Light of Hope
by SuperKirbyLand234
Summary: Nyx Snowfall (My Sonic Forces OC) finds an injured Infinite and nurses him back to health. As he stays with her, they both learn they are more alike than they once thought and soon grow a newfound understanding for one another. But can Nyx keep the fact that she's harboring an enemy of Mobius a secret for long? (Rated T for mild swearing and themes of suicide and self-harm).
1. Chapter 1

Light of Hope

(Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog or any of the games/characters, I only own my OC character(s); all credit goes to the original creators at Sega, please support the official release).

Prologue: Where it all began (OC's POV)

My name is Nyx Snowfall, I'm a member of the Resistence Force against the evil Dr. Eggman or at least I was until our side finally won the war, saving the world and tossing that demented bastard into Null Space. You're probably wondering who I was just before all this went down, well let me tell you my story:

I was born and raised in Sunset Heights, and I lived with my mother and father, Angel and Titan Snowfall. We weren't very rich but we still managed to live a decent lifestyle and I was just grateful to have a loving family despite not having much money. Growing up, I've always been a pretty smart kid when it came to medical science and I'm sure my parents had picked up on it considering as a little kid, whenever I had accidentally injured myself, I'd treat myself instead of letting them do it.

So when I turned eighteen, they decided to send me to Medical School so that I could become a doctor; since the schools expenses, like textbooks, were kind of on the expensive side, I offered to get a part time job in order to help my parents cover the costs but they assured me that they could handle it and that I should only focus on my studies.

I spent all my free time, that I had once spent walking through the woods and drawing pictures of flowers, studying for my classes and exams. I wanted to make extra sure that I passed every single one of them so that I could become a doctor and my parents would be proud of me. They were able to cover the costs for all the materials I needed to succeed, though I did sometimes question where they were getting the money to do so, but they'd just shrug me off and said they were working overtime in their jobs as an accountant and a chef in a small diner.

Of course, I was suspicious but I let it go as I was more concerned with succeeding in school. Soon the big day had come when I learned that I passed every class and exam when straight A+ and was able to graduate with a Master's Degree and a license to practice medicine. I had left the graduation party early so that I could surprise my parents with the good news, but when I burst in through the door of our house, my smile immediately dropped.

Standing in the middle of the living room was a burly looking bear wearing black leather and holding a gun, and lying on the floor were...my parents...in a pool of their own blood. They both had three bullet wounds in their chests and didn't appear to be moving or breathing; I stood there in shock but quickly snapped out of it when the intruder came running towards me, I thought fast and grabbed a nearby lamp, throwing it at him. It struck him on the forehead and knocked him unconscious.

I then walked over to the corpses of my parents, fell to my knees and began crying hysterically; I think I might have blacked out at one point because next thing I knew, I was in the employee lounge of a police station. One of the officers came up to me and explained what had happened: as it turned out, my parents had been borrowing money from a lone thug who got said money by stealing from rich homes and selling the stolen items on the black market.

My parents had been desperate for cash to help get me through medical school so they met him in an alley and pleaded with him to let them borrow a couple thousands of dollars, and he agreed so long as they could pay him back, but when they couldn't he decided to take another form of payment... their lives. He would've killed me too if I hadn't knocked him senseless with that lamp. My friend, Andrew the Squirrel, showed up half an hour later to ask me if I wanted to go with him and my three other friends, Rachelle, Toby and Lindsay, to a fancy restaurant to celebrate my graduation and that's how he found me crying and screaming over my parents' dead bodies and called the police.

The officer said they apprehended the thug and he was being sent to jail but there was nothing the paramedics or doctors could do to save my parents, they died a few minutes before I came home. I immediately burst out into tears just as my friends came in to comfort me, and what made it worse was the last thing I said to my parents was "I love you Mom and Dad, I'll see you guys later and next time you see me, I'll be a certified doctor!"

And now they'll never get to see me be the doctor I've always wanted to be.

A month or so after the incident, Toby offered to let me stay with him and his two sisters at their home since mine was a crime scene and still being processed for evidence, he figured being among friends would help me get over the trauma of my parents' death but within two months I fell into a serious spout of chronic depression. I would lock myself in the guest room Toby let me sleep in for days on end; I didn't sleep and barely ate anything.

And then my depression took a turn for the worst: I began to have frequent nightmares and then one day, Toby found me in the bathroom sliding a steak knife across my arm. I had started cutting myself so I could feel something, so I could feel a pain worse than the pain of losing my parents. I knew it was wrong, but I didn't care; at that moment it felt good to distract myself from the pain with even more pain.

My friends had quickly got me some professional help when one of my little cutting sessions almost ended with me inadvertently slitting my wrist and nearly killing myself. I started seeing a psychiatrist every few weeks, he came to the conclusion that witnessing such a violent scene and having my parents be the victims traumatized me so much that my brain had instantly shut itself off from trying to heal itself and convinced itself that more pain would help me get over the pain I was already in.

I had to spend three months in a mental ward and was put on antidepressants to help me recover from my trauma; my friends visited me, and spending time outside and drawing flowers like I used to when I was little helped me slowly but surely heal. I still thought about my parents but only about the good times we had together and how much I loved them and they loved me.

I was eventually allowed to go back home with my friends and I even started working at a hospital after that, I did become a doctor and so it was time for me to start saving lives. I was happy again...that is, until we heard the bad news. My friends and I heard about the attacks by Dr. Eggman and a jackal named Infinite and how supposedly Sonic the Hedgehog, famous hero, was captured and killed by them after being defeated in a fight with them.

There was a resistance force gathering to combat this threat and the civilizians were being evacuated to secret underground bunkers to kept them safe while they fought, but Eggman's forces were too strong and in about six months, he had taken over most of Mobius.

My friends and I didn't immediately leave Sunset Heights when they were evacuating and they had the "smart" idea of fighting back. I was against it, I'm a healer not a fighter and besides, what could we do against an evil mad scientist and a jackal armed with some kind of gem that gives him the power to create illusions and distort reality?

My friends insisted we go anyway, and we ventured to Capital City where Infinite was currently attacking. Armed with laser guns and Wispons, my friends fought as hard as they could while I sat in the background hoping they'd change their minds and run away, but that wasn't the case.

Infinite blasted them with lasers, instantly killing all four of them. My friends...Rachelle, Toby, Andrew and Lindsay...they all had died right there in front of me while I cowered in fear. I wasn't thinking, I grabbed one of their Wispons and lifted it up at Infinite but I was too shaken by shock and fear to shoot him. He laughed at me fear and blasted a laser beam at me, knocking me over; he then said, "Flee screaming and I'll let you live".

To this day, I never understood why he spared me but nevertheless, I did run away screaming for my life until I found myself in another town, which was deserted. I collapsed near some crumbling rubble of a building and once again began crying hysterically; once again, someone I cared about was violently taken from me and there was nothing I could do to stop it or reverse it.

I had spotted a piece of broken glass near me, I had wanted to pick it up, I wanted to cut myself again but I remembered what my therapist said the day I was released from the mental ward, "I'm proud of you for the amount of effort and maturity you put into recovering, and I'm sure your parents would be proud too. Just remember that you have to be strong in the face of such tragedies, the moment you give up is the moment you truly lose everything".

And that's why I couldn't cut myself again because if I did that would've meant that I gave into my fears and sorrow and let it beat me. So, despite my emotional pain, I got up and wandered around looking for someone to help me; I wandered around the abandoned town for days, with no food or water. Just when I had collapsed from the heat and thought I was going to die of starvation/dehydration, I was found by a red echidna I now know as Knuckles.

He brought me to the Resistance Base where I was given some food and water and looked over by some of the doctors that managed to escape, some of which I recognized as my coworkers from the hospital. They found out I was a doctor too and suggest I stay on the sidelines to help treat injured soldiers but I pleaded with Knuckles to let me join in and fight on the front lines; I wasn't about to just sit on the side and let the monster that took my friends from me continue to hurt others if I could fight back.

He agreed to let me join in the fight and I was given both a grappling hook and a Wispon to defend myself; my very first mission was to rescue Sonic, who as it turned out was actually alive, from Dr. Eggman's Death Egg Base. I was both excited and terrified to go on a solo mission but I had managed to pull through and, as it turns out, Sonic is a pretty great guy.

He had given me a few pep talks about being brave and not letting my fear control me, which helped in the few times I ran into Infinite again; before he had terrified me, but with Sonic and my new friends backing me up, I was able to swallow my fear and fight back.

Together we managed to defeat Infinite and , the latter of whom was now trapped in Null Space, and finally put an end to the war, saving our planet. I had never been so happy in my entire life, but standing there knowing I helped save an entire planet home to billions of Humans and Mobians, I couldn't have been more proud of myself.

After the fighting was over, we all had to say goodbye to that tiny Sonic that doesn't speak as he was brought to our dimension with the Phantom Ruby's power and when it was destroyed, he slowly began fading back to his dimension. I didn't have that many interactions with the little guy seeing as he never spoke, but I was still sad to see him leave; he was a great partner to have by my side during the final battle and to be honest, he was really adorable. Seriously, there were a lot of times I had to remind myself that he wasn't a baby despite how small and child-like he looked.

After the war ended, I made a quick trip back home just to make sure my house was still standing; I lived in a two story house between the entrance to a small forest and just outside of Sunset Heights. Sure enough, it was one of the few buildings that was still standing, it just was covered by some dust and bits of debris. I returned back to the base to join my new friends in rejoicing that the war was finally over.

There was one question that still lingered in my mind though: what happened to Infinite? When Sonic and I defeated him, he just shot off into the direction of Eggman's base, but after we defeated Eggman there was no sign of Infinite anywhere. Even though he had hurt me and a lot other people, I was still very curious about him and what his story was.

Who was he? Where did he come from? And where was he now? A part of me hoped I'd never see him again as he still struck fear into my heart but another part of me wondered if I ever would see him again, if only so I could learn more about him and find out just why he did what he did in the first place.

Author's Note: And thus ends the prologue to my Sonic Forces story; I don't care what anyone says about this game because I love it! I love its story, I love its concepts, I love its new villain and I love the gameplay option of making your own character. I've had this idea for a long time now and I'm finally going to follow through with it. Oh and if there's any of you wondering where that Shadow story I wrote went, I deleted it because while I came up with the concept for it, I had no way of continuing it so I just gave up on it. This story, however, I have a concept and a story to go along with it, so come back in Chapter 1 to see what happens. Until next time, this is SuperKirbyLand234 signing out!


	2. Chapter 2

See Prologue for Disclaimer

Chapter 1: A Chance Encounter (Nyx's POV)

I stood on the balcony of a building overlooking the other smaller buildings and the sunset in the distance. It was finally over, the war between Dr. Eggman and the Resistance was over and the Resistance was victorious; to think that a year ago, I was just a simple city girl with dreams of being a doctor. Now...I still am a doctor but now I'm also a hero. It feels weird saying that too...I'm a hero, I don't think I'll ever get used to saying that.

I stood here because I was planning on going home for a while, I knew there was much that needed to be done; even though the war was over, there's still rebuilding that needs to be done and those who have lost their homes needed to be relocated, but I needed a breather. I had an earlier conversation with Knuckles about this too.

 _Flashback_

 _While everyone was discussing what they planned to do now that the war was over, I turned to Knuckles and told him I was leaving. "What? You're leaving? There are others who still need your help", he had said._

" _I know and I will be there to help, that's why I became a doctor in the first place, but I need a week or so to relax and absorb everything. I've been through a lot this past year and I need to help myself before I can help others", I had said._

 _Knuckles nodded his head and gave me a smile as well as a pat on the shoulder, "Okay I'm not gonna stop you", he had said. And just as I was leaving, I started getting compliments from everyone else in the room. "Man, the first time I saw you stumbling around, I had no idea you could pull this thing together in the end. I've changed my mind about you", said Vector._

 _That comment had made me blush in embarassment, "I'd knew you come through, Rookie. Well, I guess you're not a rookie anymore", said Knuckles. "You did good out there. It's not like you just waited until the last minute to come in and act all cool saving the day", said Rouge. I almost felt like crying after being given such praise when before all this I was just a girl trying to find her place in the world while struggling through her emotional baggage, I had grown so much over the last year that I almost barely recognized myself._

 _End of Flashback_

And now I stood up here getting ready to go home, in about a week or two, I'll be back here to help my new friends help others who were like me in the past and get them back on the right track. "Hey, you're taking off too? I was thinking the same thing", said a voice. I turned to see that it was Sonic who spoke as he walked up to me, I couldn't begin to express my gratitude for all the help he gave me during this endeavor; without him, I probably would've given up after the first mission and be sent back to the underground bunkers where the rest of the doctors were.

It was his strength and courage that gave me the hope I needed to find my own inner strength and fight my way to victory over our enemies, he did so much for me and I couldn't thank him enough. In fact, now I was feeling pretty sad that we were going our separate ways, me to rest and recover and him to...do whatever he does in his spare time. We may have been friends but I still didn't know him too much on a personal level like the others to really know what he planned to do now.

"You gonna keep moving forward? No matter what, yeah?", said Sonic. I smiled and even let out a small chuckle, he pretty much summed up my plans: first I'll take it easy and then I'm gonna keep going in my goal to help those in need. And now I knew there truly was nothing that could stand in my way of being all that I can be. "Heh you and I aren't so different. See you later, buddy", said Sonic as he extended his fist towards me.

I couldn't believe what I heard: Sonic just said the two of us weren't so different and then he called me his buddy. I didn't know what to say so I just smiled widely and extended my fist, bumping his; my heart swelled with happiness and, to my embarassment, my tail started wagging. Luckily he didn't notice, he just turned and around and began waving to me as he ran in the opposite direction; I smiled and waved back as I flexed my left hand, shot out my grappling hook and leapt off the building, swinging away.

~~Time Lapse: Half an hour later~~

I swung across building to building as I headed back home to my two story house in Sunset Heights, all the while thinking about what I'd do when I get there. "Well the first thing I'm gonna do is take a nice hot bath, I smell like sweat and rocket fuel", I said to myself. I laughed, it was gonna be good to go home after all this time.

As I swung, the glare of something shiny caught my eyes; I looked down and saw something metallic on the ground, I swung closer to the ground and landed, retracting my grappling hook. I then walked over to the object and gasped when I saw what it was: it was Infinite's mask! It was just sitting there on the ground, out in the open for all to see despite the streets being deserted.

I slowly bent down and picked it up, it looked bent and was covered by a red substance with a very metallic odor, it sure was a good thing I was wearing gloves. "Why is this here? How it even get here in the first place?", I asked. Just then, I smelt that same metallic odor but it wasn't coming from the mask, it was coming from another direction to the left of me. I used my strong sense of smell to track down the source of the scent, as I did it slowly became stronger and more rancid.

"Oh my gosh, I knew this smell! Is...is that blood?!", I asked afraid to know the answer. When I finally came to the source, I stopped dead in my tracks and dropped the mask; there in front of me, lying on some garbage bags, was Infinite! I know I didn't know what he looked like without the mask but I recognized those gloves, the shoes, that hair and fur; it was him, no doubt about it. So the question was...why wasn't I either running for my life or blasting him with the Wispon I now carried on my back?

Well, it was because I took a closer look at him and saw that he was clutching his chest tightly while blood seeped through his fingers and there was also blood staining his lips and teeth. He was hurt badly and despite knowing who he was and what he did, I couldn't just leave him there to bleed out. I don't know if he heard my footsteps or my heavy breathing but he looked up at me suddenly, "You! So you've come to finish me off? Pfft, figures", he croaked out.

I swallowed my fear once again and slowly approached him with my hand extended in a friendly gesture, but as I did his eyes went wide and he tensed up. "What...? Stop...what are you...? No!", he said as he suddenly lashed out at me. I was able to move away so he couldn't grab me but it didn't seem like he was trying to, it seemed more like he was trying to push me away. "Get away! I don't need your damn sympathy!", he croaked out.

As he said that, I got a good look at his eyes. It wasn't the fact that they were heterochromic that caught my attention, but rather when I looked into them I saw something I thought I'd never see: fear. Infinite was...afraid...of me! I didn't know how to take that so I just got closer and began pulling a length of gauge out of my utility belt, that's when he tried to scoot away from me but didn't seem to have the strength for it. "Leave me...just let me die", he finally said.

I can't explain why but that sentence struck a cord in my heartstrings, it...hurt me emotionally to hear him say that and even if he caused me and everyone else so much heartache, I...I couldn't leave him there. I felt sorry for him, I wanted to help him and by Chaos I was going to even if he didn't want it. Slowly, I pulled his hand away to see how bad the wound was; when I saw it, I gasped in horror.

On his chest where the Phantom Ruby used to be was a hole in his chest about the same size as it, it wasn't too deep but it was bleeding profusely. I pressed the rolled up gauge into it to stop the bleeding, then I slipped my arms underneath Infinite's body and lifted him up. Surprisingly he wasn't too heavily and I was able to carry him all the way back to my house; once we were safely inside, I carried him up the stairs to my attic, which I had transformed into my own mini emergency room on the day I moved in.

Sure it didn't have as much hospital equipment as I would've liked but it did have a bed, several first-aid kits, shelves with rows of medicine and even a breathing machine in the corner. I place Infinite on the bed as I reached for a particularly large first-aid kit underneath it, this one was more professional as it was once owned by a paramedic before he gave it to me due to him wanting to quit his job and be a full time nurse instead.

Out of the first-aid kit, I pulled out a bottle of iodine, a spool of medical thread and a surgical needle, bandages and a bottle of chloroform. When Infinite saw the items I pulled out, especially the needle and chloroform, he did something I swear I'd never seen him do: he whimpered like a puppy and cowered away from me. I couldn't believe what I was seeing, he was honest-to-Chaos afraid of me; he looked at me like I was going to hurt or kill him.

Well, given what he had done, he wouldn't be wrong in assuming such a thought but I wasn't going to hurt him. So, dabbed a strip of cloth in the chloroform and slowly approached him, stroking his head with my free hand. "Shh, it's okay. You're okay, everything is gonna be alright. You're hurt, Infinite, very badly but I can help you. Now I'm gonna give you a little something to calm you down so I can close up that nasty hole in you chest", I whispered softly.

He stopped fidgeting when I said that and allowed me to press the cloth onto his nose and mouth, "Now just take deep breaths, okay?", I said while rubbing circles into his temple. Infinite took slow, deep breaths as his eyelids slowly drooped down and he fell unconscious. I removed the cloth and threw it into the trashcan as I grabbed the breathing machine, turning it on and placing the tube and come over his muzzle.

Next I grabbed the rubbing alcohol and soaked another cloth in it before running across his chest, wiping away all the blood. Then I grabbed the needle, threaded it, soaked it in iodine and began to gently and delicately stitch his wound close; I was right in that it wasn't deep enough that his heart would be compromised but it was wide and jagged, and he was losing too much blood too fast. Thanks to my knowledge and skills as a doctor, I was able to close his wound up perfectly; I soaked a piece of gauge in iodine and pressed it onto the stitched hole before wrapping it in bandages.

After cleaning up and putting away my materials, I went and got a pillow and blanket from my hallway closet; I placed the pillow under Infinite's head and draped the blanket over him after removing his gloves and shoes, I left the breathing mask on him in case he'd have trouble breathing during the night. I left his gloves and shoes in my laundry room/basement and went to finally go take that hot bath I wanted to take.

As I sat there in the tub amidst the bubbles of my strawberry scented bubble bath, I thought out loud to myself. "Well I just saved a monster and brought him into my home, what a world. Hmmm...no, he's not a...why would he give me such a fearful expression? He knows who I am, so he couldn't possibly be scared of...unless the ruby made him...ugh! Don't think about it right now, Nyx. Just wait till morning comes, I'm sure he has tons of questions to ask me too", she said as she continued to enjoy her bubble bath.

She wasn't wrong though, Infinite was sure to ask her several question, probably asking where he was or how he got there or if Nyx planned on killing him in his sleep. All questions that they'd both have to wait until the morning to find the answer.

Author's Note: That's it for Chapter 1 and wow Infinite sure did act weird. Was he really afraid of Nyx or was it just a ploy to gain her trust before turning around and betraying her. You'll just have to find out in Chapter 2; until next time, this is SuperKirby234 signing out!


	3. Chapter 3

**See** **Prologue** **for** **Disclaimer**

Chapter 2: Explanations and Apologies (Infinite's POV)

I struggled to open my heavy eyelids as I woke up, and the first thing I noticed when I did was that I was lying on something soft and warm. I sat up to see that I was on a bed in what looked like a hospital room only with less medical equipment; that's when I noticed that my gloves and shoes were gone and my chest was wrapped in bandages.

Trying to figure what was going on, I slowly climbed out of bed and made my way towards the door. When I opened it I wasn't greeted by the bustling hallway of a hospital but instead the quiet hallway of a house. I walked through the halls until I came upon a flight of stairs; when I made it to the bottom step, I was immediately greeted by a heavenly scent.

It was a smell unlike any I've smelt before, and it made my mouth water and my stomach roar. It turned out the smell was coming from the kitchen, I looked inside to see a girl standing by the stove cooking something. But it wasn't just any girl, I immediately recognized her as the same wolf girl who Sonic the Hedgehog defeat me, the same girl I had multiple encounters with.

That could only mean that this was her house, which then begged the question: what was I doing in her house. I saw one of her ears flick and she turned around to look at me; I don't know why but I was almost compelled to hide behind the wall when she spotted me, but she just smiled in my direction. "Oh good, you're awake. I was wondering when you'd wake up, I hope you don't mind that I made you some breakfast. I figured you'd be hungry when you woke up", she said.

As confused as I was, I sat down at the table as she placed a plate in front of me, "It's a ham and cheese omelet with some wheat toast and a glass of orange juice, I hope you like it", she said before going back to the counter to wash the dishes. I was of course wary of eating the food she just gave me, after all I've put her through I wouldn't be surprised if she laced it with poison so it'd kill me.

But my stomach was protesting loudly and I couldn't take the hunger pains anymore so, throwing caution to the wind, I picked up the fork and took a bite out of the omelet. My eyes went wide and in seconds, I started scarfing down my meal; I couldn't help myself, it was the single most delicious thing I had ever eaten in my life.

I sat back in my chair after I had finished, feeling slightly dizzy from eating too fast; the girl looked at me and chuckled, "Well somebody sure was hungry, huh? So if you're all done, just leave your dishes in the sink and go lie down on the couch. After I'm done watering my backyard garden, I'll be back to check your wound and give you some medicine", she said.

I watched her fill a watering can with water before walking out through the back door; out of curiosity, I followed her and saw that she wasn't kidding about the garden. Her backyard was completely filled with a wide variety of flowers, all different sizes and colors, and there was a narrow cobblestone path between both beds of flowers to prevent them from being stepped on.

My curiosity was peaked even higher as I began exploring the rest of her house, it was rather rustic and quaint but still had that cozy feeling to it. Aside from the attic, kitchen and living room, there was also a bedroom and two bathrooms; on the second floor, I came across another room. Inside of it was what looked like five short pedestals, each one with a picture above them and two empty vases atop each pedestal.

Above the first pedestal, was a picture of a young wolf couple wearing wedding clothes, and above the other four were pictures of a squirrel, a badger, a cat and a shrew. Above each picture was a golden plaque but before I could read what any of them said, I heard the door slowly creak open. I turned and saw the wolf girl standing in the doorway holding several flowers; I hate to admit this but I was actually...afraid of what she might do, I mean I did snoop around her house, essentially invading her privacy.

I wouldn't be surprised if she attacked me in a fit of rage, but instead she gave me a sad smile and walked over to the pedestals, placing about three flowers in each vase. "I see you've met them all", she said. That's when Iooked up at the plague over the first picture, it read: R.I.P. Mom & Dad; then I looked over to the other plagues and they each read: R.I.P. Rachelle, R.I.P. Andrew, R.I.P. Toby and R.I.P. Lindsay.

My blood ran cold as I realized what this room was: it was a mausoleum! A shrine with pictures of those who had died and, like graves in a cemetery, she was placing flowers before their pictures to pay respects to these people. I suddenly felt very uncomfortable, like I was supposed to be in here; in fact, the more I looked at the four people on the opposite end of the wall, the more I knew I really shouldn't have been in here.

"W...who are all these people?", I asked hesitantly. She turned around to look at me, "The couple were my parents, I lost them about a year and three months ago. Those four were my friends, I lost them during the war with Eggman", she said. At that moment I felt sick to my stomach, I rushed to the nearest of the two bathrooms and I began to vomit violently into the toilet; my fears and suspicions were correct, those four Mobians were the same four Mobians who tried to stand against me when I had attacked Capital City but I blasted all of them with my power, instantly killing all four of them at once.

And...she was there! She saw me do it! She saw me murder her friends and now I was in her home?! Why? The last thing I remember was lying in an alleyway bleeding to death and she found me, does this mean she saved me? But why? Why would she save me after I had done so many bad things to her? Was this a trap? Did she really save just so she could lure me into a false sense of security just before she killed me herself?

That thought just made me vomit even more until nothing more came out of my stomach and my throat began to burn. Suddenly, I felt her lift me off the ground and lead back downstairs where she laid me down on the couch. She then wiped my mouth with a napkin and placed a cone-shaped device over my muzzle; it was connected to a tube which was connected to a small machine, she turned it on and I was immediately greeted by a stream of oxygen.

"It's okay, Infinite. Just calm down and take slow, deep breaths. Inhale though your nose and exhale through your mouth", she said gently. I did as she asked and I felt my rapid heartbeat slow back down to a steady rhythm, and the nauseous feeling I had before was beginning to dissipate. She smiled as she stroked the top of my head, "That's good, keep breathing calmly. You were having a seriously bad panic attack, I had to go get my oxygen machine from the attic or else your lungs might've imploded", she said.

I looked up at her, "I don't understand...why? Why did you save me from bleeding to death in that alley? Why did you save me from my panic attack just now? After all I've done to you...I killed your old friends, frequently attacked your new ones, put you through absolute Hell! Why would you help me after I made you suffer? If it was anyone else, they would've either left me to die or take my life themselves. Why didn't you?," I asked though my voice was muffled by my breathing mask.

She sighed and looked at me, "You're right, Infinite. You are absolutely right, you did do all those terrible things and by all accounts I should've left you in that alley to die. Hell, there's a part of me asking why I don't just wrap my hand around your throat and strangle you, but you see here's the reason. When I saw you in that alley, lying there bleeding to death, my first instinct was to help you.

"I'm a doctor, it can't be helped. But when you lashed out at me and told me to leave you alone, I looked into your eyes and I saw...myself. I saw myself back when I was too scared to fight back against you, I saw myself back when I found my parents dead at the hand of some lowly thug and there was nothing I could do about it. I saw fear and sadness in your eyes, the same fear and sadness that my old friends saw in my eyes the day my parents were killed. And just like you in that alley, Infinite..."

She trailed off as she removed both of her blue gloves and presented her light purple arms to me; to my shock, I saw that her wrists and forearms were riddled with pink lines, they were a little faded but still very noticeable. It hit me that they were...scars! And not only that but given the precision in which each one was made, I came to the conclusion that they were all self-inflicted.

"...I wanted to give up. You see these scars? When my parents were killed, I fell so far deep into depression that everyday I would sit in the bathroom and cut myself. It felt good to feel a different kind of pain than the emotional kind I was feeling, my brain had tricked itself into believing that was the only way to get over their loss. But one day I had slit my wrist by accident and almost bled to death had my friends not caught me and rushed me to the hospital; after that, I was placed into a mental ward and had to frequently see a therapist to help me overcome my pain and stop me from continuing to hurt myself.

"Eventually, I did recover and I was able to get my life back on track, but then came the war with Dr. Eggman. All the civilians were being evacuated from the cities and towns while the Resistance fought back; despite my pleading against it, my friends wanted to fight back too. They tried to stand up to you but they failed and it cost them their lives.

"When you spared me, I ran to another deserted city and collapsed by some rubble, crying out for them. I saw broken glass all around me and almost contemplated picking up a piece and slitting my wrists with it...that is until I remembered the day I fully recovered from my depression and suicidal tendacies. My therapist said I made a full recovery due to my newfound determination to not give up trying to get better the healthy way and not giving into my fears and sorrow.

"The moment I would've given up would've been the moment where I let my pain win and I couldn't let that happen. So when I saw you lying there, I saw myself when I was so ready to give up on life and let myself just die. But the one thing I had that help me save myself both times was my friends, first the ones I had before the war and the ones I have now. They helped pull me out of the hole I dug for myself and then I had to climb up the rest of the mountain by myself if I wanted to get better.

"You were me in that moment and in that moment, I didn't want to give up on you and I wasn't going to let you give up on yourself, so that's why I saved you. I saved you because I didn't want to see another person end up like how I was and succeed, so...I may or may not forgive you right away but if you're truly remorseful and are very sorry for what you did, which given the look in your eyes says you are, then I accept your apology", she said.

I don't know what came over me but in the span of a few seconds, I ripped the breathing mask off my face, threw myself into her arms and began to cry hysterically; a part of me was disgusted with myself for showing such vulnerability, but another part of me was truly remorseful for the pain I caused her and how she almost went down the same path of self destruction she did when her parents died because of it.

And the fact that she saw that I close to doing the same and decided she wasn't going to give up on me and leave me for dead just like she hadn't given up on herself made me feel even worse about the pain I caused her, I felt like I didn't deserve her kindness but...I was still grateful for it regardless.

"I'm sorry! I'm so so sorry..."

"Nyx, my name is Nyx", she said.

"Nyx...I'm sorry, Nyx. I'm sorry for all the pain and misery I cost you, I know you can never forgive me but at least accept my apology", I croaked. She gently stroked the top of my head, "I accept your apology and if you put in the effort to change, then I might be able to give you my forgiveness, but for now, my home is your home", she said. I just laid on her lap and continued to cry even harder than before, I didn't deserve any of this but I wasn't going to let her kind act go unwarranted. One way or another, I'd find a way to turn my life around; I could only hope I deserved this second chance.

Author's Note: That's it for Chapter 2 and now you all know why Nyx saved Infinite even though she could've just left him for dead, and...this has always been one of my favorite tropes when it comes to second chance stories; where you someone who wronged you in the same vulnerable position you once were in and they're so ready to give up on life, but you help them because you don't want to see a repeat of your own mistakes. Anyway, come back for Chapter 3 to see where things go from here; until then, this is SuperKirbyLand234 signing out!


	4. Chapter 4

**See Prologue for Disclaimer**

Chapter 3: Infinite's Origins (Third Person POV)

Infinite laid on the couch quietly while Nyx was busy wiping his stitches wound with an antiseptic wipe and replacing his iodine soaked bandages with clean ones, it had been a whole two hours since his emotional outburst and now things were a little awkward between the two of them. That was when Infinite decided to break the silence by starting a conversation.

"So...you really like flowers, huh? I...saw your garden and I thought it looked very pretty, you don't see that many flowers in the desert", he said. Nyx smiled as she put her medical supplies back into the first-aid kit, "Yeah, gardening is a hobby of mine, has been since I was a little girl. My mom taught me how to grow and care for flowers, and my dad was an accountant so he taught me advance mathematics, and now there's no equation I can't solve. Say, what were your parents like?", she said.

Infinite inhaled deeply and let out a long sigh, "I never knew my parents, I've been an orphan all of my life", he said. Nyx gasped as she sat down next to him on the couch, "Oh my gosh, I'm sorry for asking. I didn't know", she said. Infinite let out a dry laugh, "Don't be. I quickly learned that the desert was a harsh place and to survive, you've got to be fearless and strong. I was able to take care of myself without anyone's help, and as I grew older, I began learning basic combat skills. I soon became the mercenary I was long before the war", he said.

Nyx gave him a sympathetic look, "You couldn't have been all alone your whole life, right? Didn't you have any friends at least?", she asked. Infinite soon had a far away look in his eyes, "My squad", he said quietly. "What did you say?", asked Nyx. "Before I even met Eggman, I was captain of a band of mercenaries called The Jackal Squad; my squad was pretty small consisting only of myself and five others, but they were the best band of mercs I've ever known. They were loyal, strong and fearless, they were more than just my friends...they were my family. I can still remember when I met each of them", he said _._

 _~~Flashback (Three Years Ago)~~_

 _Infinite sat at his usual table in the corner of a desert tavern, drinking a tankard of ale while counting the money he earned from his last job, being a mercenary for hire always seemed to pay off for him but he was beginning to get weary of having to do difficult jobs himself._

 _Suddenly a loud crash caught his attention, on the other side of the tavern a group of three big and burly tigers were cornering a jackal younger than Infinite; he was wearing a green beret on his head, a black shirt and dark green pants. And the little guy looked pretty terrified, "Where's our money, Levi?!", yelled one of the tigers. "C'mon Tony, you know I'm good for it. I said I pay you and I will, I swear, I just need a little more time", said the jackal._

 _Suddenly the tallest tiger, Tony, grabbed the jackal by the collar of his shirt and lifted him off the ground, "Or how about we just beat the cash out of you", he said. The jackal cowered in fear but before the tiger could punched him, he felt his arm get yanked back by Infinite, "How about you leave the kid alone?", he said. The tiger dropped the jackal and him and his cronies turned to face Infinite, "Stay out of this pal, this is our business!", said Tony._

 _Infinite let out a laugh, "Well then, I hope you don't mind if I cut in", he said. Tony became annoyed and tried to throw a punch at him but Infinite grabbed his fist, twisted his arm back and held his red sword against his throat. These tigers were strong but Infinite was faster and more agile, and he was also armed whereas they had no weapons. "Now you're gonna listen and listen good: if I catch any of you harassing that jackal again, I'll take my sword, slice off your tails and make you wear them like scarves. Now get the Hell out of here, you stupid bastards", he said._

 _The three tigers all ran out of the tavern with their tails between their legs, Infinite then turned to the jackal. "Hey kid, are you okay?", he asked. The young jackal sighed in relief and smiled, "Yeah, I'm alright. Thanks for the save there, bro; I owed those guys some money but I haven't had any luck getting it. My name's Levi, what's yours?", he said. "My name is Zero and I think I can help with your money problem, I'm putting together my own band of mercenaries. How would you like to join?", said Infinite._

" _Mercenaries, Huh? Well I ain't much of a fighter but I am a tech expert and I have a feeling you're gonna need one of those, so I'd love to join you", said Levi. He and Infinite fist bumped before leaving the tavern._

 _~~Time Lapse: A month later~~_

 _Infinite and Levi were camping in out in the desert one night, with the former counting their earnings and the latter roasting some sausage links over an open fire. "Our dinner is just about done, Zero", said Levi. Infinite smiled as his new partner/friend handed him a sausage; just then, they both heard the sound of rustling in the nearby shrubs. Infinite immediately drew his sword and stood up, "Who's there? Show yourself!", he called out._

 _The rustling continued until the source of the noise stepped out of the shrubs, it was a female jackal wearing a purple shirt and black shorts and she looked pretty hungry. "Hey I mean you no harm, but I was waiting for you to go to sleep so I could steal your food. Can't help it: I'm a thief and I'm also starving", she said. Rather than chase her off, Infinite invited her to sit near him and hands her the biggest sausage link they had; she immediately tore into the piece of meat, ripping and tearing at it with her sharp teeth._

" _Geez lady, you must've gone days without any real food. How are you ever still standing?", asked Levi. "I survived this long on cactus fruit, it's small, tasteless and not very filling but the juice keeps ya from dying of thirst", she said with a mouthful of sausage. Infinite smiled as held up another sausage and a canteen of water, "Well we've got plenty of food and water and we be happy to share with you, but first I have to ask you something: you said you were a thief and that can be pretty useful. So, how'd you like to join my mercenary squad?", he said._

 _The girl picked her teeth with the kabob skewer after finishing off the first sausage, "As long as I get paid and you hook me with free food, I'll swipe anything you want me to", she said. Infinite laughed as he threw the sausage and canteen at her, "Sure thing. By the way, my name is Zero and he's Levi, what's your name?", he said. Taking a swig of water, the girl smiled. "My name's Tempest", she said._

 _~~Time Lapse: Four months later~~_

 _Infinite, Levi and Tempest laid on the back of a hay cart as they had bribed the driver with money to give them a ride through the desert; Infinite was taking a nap, Levi was tinkering with wrist watch and Tempest was fiddling with a piece of straw between her fingers. Suddenly the hay cart stopped and the trio sat up to see that they were near an inn, "You folks were looking for a place to stay for the night, well here it is. Now get the Hell off my cart", said the old armadillo as they climbed off and he drove his cart away._

 _The trio walked into the inn and got themselves a room for the night, "So what's our next move gonna be, Zero?", asked Levi. "My squad is still too small, I was hoping spending the night at this inn would allow me to pick up some more members", said Infinite. Tempest scoffed as she got up and headed for the door, "Well while you work on that, I'm gonna go see if this inn has a bar", she said as she left the room._

 _Sure enough the inn did indeed have a bar and so she sat on one of the bar stools and ordered herself a glass of whiskey. "Our last few jobs have turned out barely any profit, brother. If this keeps up, we'll be stuck living off cactus fruit out in the desert", said a voice. Tempest turned around to see two male jackals, one wearing a red beret and scarf and the other wearing a green headband, sitting at a table and talking about their lack of money._

" _I know but there's not much market for bodyguards these days, what are we supposed to do?", said the one in the red beret. Tempest smirked as she walked over to their table, getting their attention. "Well well, hello there cutie. What's a fine young thing like you doing here all by herself?", said the one in the green headband. "I heard you boys were tight on cash, and I have the solution to your problem. But if either of you try anything funny around me, money isn't the only thing you're gonna have less of", said Tempest._

 _Back upstairs, Levi was fast asleep on his bed while Infinite was watching a cheesy black and white movie on the TV. He got up when he heard Tempest knocking on the door, he opened it to see her standing out in the hallway with the two male jackals. "Tempest, who are these two guys?", he asked. "Zero, meet the newest members of our squad: Crimson and his twin brother Steel", she said as she gestured to them, Crimson was the one with the red scarf and beret and Steel was the one with the green headband._

 _Infinite smirked as he welcomed them with fist bumps, "Well it's good to have you, I'm Zero the leader of the squad and the little guy snoozing over there is Levi", he said._

 _~~Time Lapse: Seven months later~~_

 _Infinite and his small band of mercenaries rode on the back of another hay cart, this one they bought for themselves and was being driven by Levi while Infinite, Tempest, Crimson and Steel sat in the back on a pile of straw. Suddenly, Infinite felt a drop hit his nose; he looked up at the sky and seconds later it started raining. Rain was a rare weather phenomenon in the desert and when it did rain, it came down hard._

" _We need to find some shelter from the rain!", he shouted. The others began looking around for anything that might shield them from the oncoming rain storm, "Hey look over there!", shouted Levi as he pointed to what looked like an abandoned barn in the middle of a rocky outcrop. He steered the horse drawn cart towards it as Crimson and Steel jumped off and opened the doors to let him in, closing the doors behind them._

 _The group shook the rain droplets off themselves as Infinite went about starting a fire to warm themselves up, that was when they all heard something moving around behind some old crates in the barn; Infinite drew his sword and cautiously stepped towards the crates, "Who's back there? Show yourself!", he called out. A large shadowy figure stepped out from behind the crates and the light of the campfire then illuminated them to reveal a rather tall and muscular jackal with a light green headband around his head._

" _Who are you?", asked Infinite. "My name's Bruiser and I was gonna ask what were you guys doing in my barn but I'm okay with sharing it, it beats sitting out there in the rain", he said. Soon Bruiser had joined the others around the campfire and even agreed to join Infinite's squad on account of he had nothing better to do and it sounded like fun, and the squad could use someone with that much muscle mass._

 _They all sat around the campfire, telling jokes and stories, and laughing and sharing food until Infinite got their attention. "I think I've chosen the perfect name for our group: The Jackal Squad. It's simple and has a nice ring to it, and with me leading the way, we'll become the greatest group of mercenaries this world has ever seen. Who's with me?", he shouted. Everyone else in the room all cheered and raised their hands up, signifying that they were ready to follow him wherever life took them._

 _~~End of Flashback~~_

Nyx sat there in astonishment after hearing Infinite tell the story of how he formed the Jackal Squad, "Wait, your name used to be Zero", she asked. Infinite sighed, "Yes but I gave up that name a long time ago so please don't start calling me that", he said. Nyx sat awkwardly as she didn't know what else to say but then did think of something, "Is it okay if I ask...what happened to your squad?", she asked. That's when she noticed the sad expression on Infinite's face was replaced by one of anger.

"Shadow happened", he growled. "Wait, what did you say?", asked Nyx. Infinite growled in anger as he gripped the arm of the couch tightly, "Your friend, the black and red hedgehog, destroyed my squad. It when Eggman hired us to protect his base in Mystic Jungle, my squad tried to hold Shadow off from attacking but they were no match for him and...he wiped them out! Then I challenged him but he easily kicked me to the curb and then he called me pathetic; I'm...not pathetic! I'm...not...weak!", he yelled as he slammed his fist into the coffee table almost breaking it.

Nyx flinched at his display of rage but Infinite calmed down and laid on the couch, "I'm sorry if I scared you, but it just makes me so angry knowing my squad was taken out and there was nothing I could do to save them. They weren't just my friends and comrades, they were the closest thing to a family I ever had and now they're gone", he said as he felt angry tears form in the corners of his eyes.

Feeling bad, Nyx leaned over and began gently rubbing his temples with her hands while humming a soft tune. "What are you doing?", he asked. Nyx immediately retracted her hands, "Oh my gosh, I'm sorry Infinite. If that bothers you then I'll stop", she squealed. Infinite turned to his side to look at her, "No, not the head massage you were giving, I'd actually like it if you didn't stop doing that. I meant that tune you were humming just now, what was it?", he said.

"Oh that's just a song my mother used to sing to me when I was little, I hum it every once and a while when I'm feeling down or just when I'm thinking of her and those I lost", said Nyx. Infinite laid back down, "Sing it", he said. "Wait what did you say?", asked Nyx. "Please sing the song to me, I could use something to help me relax right now", he said. Nyx hesitantly reached over and continued to rub his scalp while singing her mother's song out loud.

Nyx: _[Verse 1] "All that I see now is not the same_

 _All you remember has gone away_

 _But you're still standing here_

 _So much has happened; it's hard to bear_

 _Shadows of sadness within your stare_

 _But still, you're standing here_

 _[Pre-Chorus]_

 _There beyond, future's down the road_

 _But the journey won't be easy_

 _Rising up and standing on your own_

 _With the beauty in your eyes_

 _Shining..._

 _[Chorus]_

 _You have not lost a thing_

 _Whatever may come_

 _The light of hope is always shining there in your heart_

 _You've not lost a thing_

 _Whatever you do_

 _Just know that your tomorrow will be waiting for you_

 _[Verse 2]_

 _Ever so precious a vision shared_

 _The future you promised on that special day_

 _Still, memories never fade_

 _Friends of old, back from long ago_

 _Come again, just to say hello_

 _And there's something that you know_

 _[Pre-Chorus']_

 _Find the strength that lies within your soul_

 _And believe that you can do it_

 _Rising up and standing on your own_

 _With the beauty in your eyes_

 _Shining..._

 _[Chorus]_

 _You have not lost a thing_

 _Whatever may come_

 _The light of hope is always shining there in your heart_

 _You've not lost a thing_

 _Whatever you do_

 _Just know that your tomorrow will be waiting for you_

 _[Chorus']_

 _Never have to give up_

 _Whatever may come_

 _The light of hope is always shining there in your heart_

 _Haven't lost anything_

 _No matter what comes_

 _You know inside that here is right where you always are_

 _[Bridge]_

 _Sow a seed in the ground and let it know_

 _It's something special_

 _Let it bloom, let its flowers ever bloom_

 _Many friends gather as emotions grow_

 _And great power starts to flow!_

 _[Chorus]_

 _You have not lost a thing_

 _Whatever may come_

 _The light of hope is always shining there in your heart_

 _You've not lost a thing_

 _Whatever you do_

 _Just know that your tomorrow will be waiting for you_

 _[Coda / Chorus'']_

 _Never have to give up_

 _Wherever you go_

 _Know inside that you will never be there alone_

 _Haven't lost anything_

 _Whatever may come_

 _The light of hope is always shining there in your heart"_

When Nyx finished both her singing and ministrations, she looked down to see that Infinite had fallen asleep on her lap; she smiled as she let out a laugh and a sigh of annoyance, "I wish I grabbed a book before sitting down, now I can't get up", she said.

Author's Note: That ends Chapter 3 and the origin of how Infinite's squad came to be before they were wiped out by Shadow. Also, I made up the names of the Jackal Squad members because I don't know what their actual name are and this was easier. Come back next time for Chapter 4; until next time, this is SuperKirbyLand234 signing out!


	5. Chapter 5

**See Prologue for Disclaimer**

Chapter 4: Understanding (Infinite's POV)

I let out a short yawn as I slowly began waking up the very next morning, although I felt so warm and comfortable that I almost didn't want to wake up; that was when I felt warm air on my face. _What is that_ , I thought to myself.

I looked up and saw, to my shock, that Nyx was leaning against me while sleeping; part of her face was obscured by my long white hair and the part that wasn't, which was her nose, was where the warm air was coming from. She was softly breathing on me while she let out tiny snores.

What was she doing on me? Why was she on me? Should I wake her up myself? Or should I let her wake up on her own? I didn't know what to do so I just decided not to do anything and continued to lay there while she used me as a pillow. As I laid in her lap, I was able to get a good look at her: she had lavender colored fur with dark purple hair that sprouted between her ears and dropped down to short length behind her head.

Her muzzle was white like mine, and despite looking like a girl who doesn't wear much makeup, she had long thick eyelashes. I have to admit, she looked quite pretty. Then my gaze directed me towards her left hand that dangled in front of my face, as gently as I could, I reached up and slowly pulled her glove off, revealing her wrist and forearm that was riddled with faded pink lines.

I held Nyx's hand gently in my own and softly stroked my thumb over the scars as I sighed sadly. I still couldn't believe she actually did this to herself, I could only imagine the kind of pain she was going through to put herself through such physical harm. She told me about losing her parents and that's why she would cut herself, it was her way of coping with the loss.

Of course, I could never understand what that must've been like since I never knew my parents; for as long as I could remember, I've been living on my own out in the desert since I was a pup. Well...I did have a least one person, but that was a long time ago.

"Hmmph!"

I was pulled out of my thoughts when I heard Nyx groan above me, I looked up to see that her face was contorted in fear and sadness. "Mom...Dad...please...come back...don't...leave me", I heard her muttered while a tear slid down her muzzle. It was clear that she was having a nightmare; thinking quickly, I gently slid my way out from under her and laid her down on my lap without waking her up. Just as she had done for me, I began to rub her scalp in an effort to calm her down.

"It's okay, no one is going to hurt you. You're safe", I whispered into her ear. Her face changed to a more relaxed expression as she began to calm down and continued to sleep peacefully; I almost laughed at the small smile that suddenly graced her, she was just too damn adorable.

Just then I heard a grumbling noise which I immediately realized was my own stomach, I was starving. The only food I had was that omlete and toast Nyx made for me yesterday and I had almost immediately threw it back up when I found myself in the same room she had a shrine for her dead friends who I had killed.

My stomach was now throbbing in pain at the lack of any food within it. I would've awoken Nyx and had make me another omlete but it felt wrong to disturb her, especially after I helped her calm down from her nightmare. So I gently slid my way out from under her and made my way to the kitchen where I tried to find something to eat.

I looked in the refrigerator and found two slices of some leftover pepperoni pizza, I pulled them out and placed them onto a plate. Then I put them into the microwave, but...I immediately ran into a problem: I knew a microwave is used to reheat food but I didn't know how to work it.

I just randomly pressed any button since I was too hungry to concern myself if I was doing this right, and I stood waiting, for what felt like an eternity, for the pizza to reheat. Finally the microwave beeped and I pulled out the slices, but when I took a bite of one, I screamed in pain as it was so hot it burned my tongue. I dropped the slice back onto the plate and rushed over to the sink where I turned on the cold water and stuck my tongue under the cool stream.

That was when I heard girlish laughter and turned to see that Nyx was awake and she was trying, but failing, very hard not to laugh at me. "And just what are you laughing at?", I asked though it might've sounded garbled due to my tongue sticking out of my mouth. "I'm...pfft...I'm sorry, I shouldn't laugh but that was too funny. You reheated it for five minutes when thirty seconds was all you needed, no wonder you burned your tongue. You didn't reheat the pizza, you practically nuked it", said Nyx as she kept giggling.

And let me tell you: I tried so hard in that moment to be angry at her for laughing at my misfortune but...I just couldn't. Her giggling was just too cute that the more and more she laughed, the more my anger kept dissipating. In fact, when she finally stopped and went to cool down my pizza so I could eat it, I suddenly wanted her to keep laughing, but I didn't know how to ask her to do so without coming across as strange or awkward.

"Nyx, I want you to laugh some more", I said. She suddenly turned towards me and looked at me like I just spontaneously combusted, "What did you just say?", she asked. Now I was mentally kicking myself for saying that because I just made it awkward, "I just meant that I wanted to hear you laugh again, your laughter is very...cute to me", I said. Nyx then smiled and blushed, I don't know if it was from embarassment or she was flattered by what I said but at least she didn't think I was being a weird creep.

"Well I wish I could, but your burned tongue but wasn't that funny, Infinite. If you wanna hear me laugh again, you're gonna have to do something I find funny", she said as she turned around and went back to cooling down my pizza. I stood there and thought about how I could make her laugh again until an idea finally came to me; it was stupid and had a 50/50 chance of ending with me getting punched in the face, but I went for it anyway.

I slowly crept up behind her and ran my fingers along the sides of her ribs; suddenly she started shaking as laughs were trying to escape her but it was clear she was struggling to hold them in. That is...until she finally let them out. "HAHAHAHAHA! I...Infinite! What...hehehehe...are you...doing...? HAHAHAHAHA!", she gasped as I continued to assault her sides gently with my claws. "I said I wanted to hear you laugh some more, so I figure why not tickle you?", I said.

"HAHAHAHAHA...you jerk! I'm...I'm gonna...hehehehe...hurt you...so...hahahahaha...bad!", she gasped again. Eventually I stopped my 'attack' and let her have a moment to breathe; then she immediately turned around and gave me an almost evil looking smirk. I was suddenly afraid she was going to beat me within an inch of my life but instead, she tackled me to the floor and began running her fingers along my ribcage.

"Pfft...HAHAHAHAHA! Nyx...what are...you...hahahahaha...doing?", I gasped.

"I'm just returning the favor, getting a little payback!", she said with a mock evil grin on her face. I laughed even harder when she began pinching my armpits, my breath hitching in my throat while tears of laughter formed at the corners of my eyes. Finally she stopped and I was given a moment to catch my breath, as well as a moment of confusion. "I don't understand why you didn't try to punch me after I started ticking you? I thought you'd be angry at me for invading your personal space", I said.

Nyx simply smiled at me, "Cause that was so much fun! Woof, I've haven't laughed that hard in Chaos knows how long and...it felt good to laugh again, so thanks for that Infinite. Anyway, your pizzas are cooled down now; I'm gonna go run you a nice warm bath because I'm immediately regret tickling your armpits since they smell really bad, no offense", she said as she stood up and went upstairs.

I sat and ate my pizza as I mulled over what she just said: she said mine tickling of her was fun. That she hadn't had a good laugh in so long that me randomly tickling her made her happy; her depression must've been so terrible that for a long time, she might've forgotten what it was like to laugh and be happy. And to think, if she didn't remember to be strong in the wake of tragic events, then me killing her friends could've sent her back over the edge.

Nyx came back downstairs and the smile she had on her face quickly dropped to a frown, no doubt due to the sorrowful expression she must've seen on my face. "Infinite, what's wrong?", she asked. "Nyx...when you were struggling to recover from your depression and...suicidal behavior, was there ever a moment where you thought you'd never be happy again?", I asked. She looked at me in sympathy before walking up behind me and giving me a hug from behind.

"Infinite, during my time at that mental ward, I would often refuse to come out of my room when the doctors and my therapist suggested that going outside for some fresh air and mingling with the other, more of sound mind patients, would break me out of my depressive mold. I would lay in bed all day, under my quilt, and cry endless because of how much I missed my parents.

"Sometimes instead of having suicidal thoughts, I had homicidal ones. There were times where I'd lie in bed thinking about the thug who took my parents from me; I was told that he was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison but I'd lie in bed thinking about it he ever escaped, I'd find him and make sure he dies in the slowest most painful way imaginable. I knew that would never happen so I just redirected my violent urges back at myself.

"Why? Because at that moment, I hated myself for being a scared little baby. I hated that all I could do when I stumbled upon the crime scene was chuck a lamp at that thug's head, I wanted to fight back, I wanted to hurt him like he hurt me, but I couldn't. Now of course, they made sure I wasn't around any sharp metal objects so everything from the food tray to the silverware to even the cup I drank out of was made of plastic, that way I couldn't cut myself.

"But one day, I did go outside, but only to find a long flat rock to bring back to my room. During my time locked in my room, I'd take the rock and I'd gnaw on it, sharpening my teeth. They wouldn't let me eat with a metal fork but I knew they couldn't take away my teeth; once they were sharp enough, I went into the bathroom and I bit into my arms hard enough to break the skin and cause them to bleed.

"I then looked at myself in the mirror and screamed "Who's the scaredy baby now! Ya see this! I'm not scared to feel pain! I'M NOT SCARED OF ANYTHING!" Of course they heard me screaming and I was immediately sedated so they could perform emergency surgery to save my arms; I was lucky that in my crazed fit of self-loathing I didn't accidentally bite my arms off but I did lose feeling in them for about a week and had to be strapped down to my bed while a feeding tube was inserted into my stomach and a nurse would come in frequently to help me bathe or use the toilet.

"Looking back on it, I feel so stupid for letting myself get like that. A lot of people told me during that time that I shouldn't hate myself for not being able to save my parents; they told me that I had no way of knowing how they were getting my school money because they chose to keep it a secret and I had no way of knowing they were being attacked since I was at the graduation ceremony.

"They were right, but that never stopped the darker side of me from constantly calling me a wimp for not making that thug really pay for what he did, and a baby for sitting around and moping over my parents. A voice in head would always tell me: "Awww does the little puppy need her mommy and daddy to come hold her hand and tell everything's okay? You're such a pathetic loser that that bear shouldn't gunned you down while he had the chance, he would've saved you and your friends a ton of embarassment". I wanted to believe it was right about that.

"But when it mentioned my friends, I realized I wasn't alone and that there were still people who cared about me enough to help me pull through and find a way to be happy again. Even after I lost my friends, when I joined the Resistance, I felt like I still had people around me pushing me to be my best. When I fought either by myself or alongside Sonic, I felt like a million armies: strong, brave and unbreakable! Even in the wake of both tragedies, I found a way to survive", she said.

Nyx then took my hand and guided me upstairs to the bathroom, "Your bath is ready. I hope you don't mind that I added couple of bath bombs and mineral salts to the water, I read that it's supposed to be relaxing and is good for your skin", she said as she walked out and closed the door to give me privacy.

I slowly slid into the bathtub and sighed as I felt the warmth of the water caress my skin and fur, as I sat there I though about what Nyx told me. At one moment, she too felt like she wasn't strong enough because she couldn't fight back; she felt like she was pathetic and worthless, like her existence had no meaning. She almost killed herself twice because of that as well.

That's when it hit me: Nyx experienced an event in her life that made her question her own inner strength and she went through a short period of self-loathing before using an extreme method of proving she wasn't weak or pathetic. "She truly does understand me", I said out loud to myself in shock.

Just then I heard the door open and Nyx walked in without looking at me, "Hey sorry to bother you but I brought you some clean towels and, you don't have to wear them, but I got some of my Dad's old pajamas if you want to wear them. Don't worry, they're clean and I kept them in a air tight plastic container to keep out any dust", she said as she placed the items on the sink and left.

I suddenly saw Nyx in a new light; she knew my pain, she understood what it was like for me when I lost my squad, when Shadow defeated me and said I was weak, when Eggman gave me an opportunity to prove that I could be strong.

The only difference was that I chose that opportunity to hurt others whereas Nyx just decided to hurt herself, and while I continued to believe that the Phantom Ruby was what made me stronger, Nyx had friends both old and new to remind her that she had inner strength and that she only needed to find it.

I also began to feel like I actually had...a real friend. I mean, yes, I did think of my squad as my friends as well as my family, but they were taken away from me and I then started to believe I didn't need friendship to be strong. But after being defeated by both Sonic and Nyx, and then hearing her tell me of the life she once had before the war, I realized that maybe having a friend, especially one who could sympathize with you, wasn't such an bad thing after all.

I slowly sank further into the tub as I let the mineral enriched water not only wash away my body odor, but also wash away my sins; it was in that moment that I felt cleansed in more ways than one, and I was slowly changing...becoming a new person, with a whole new perspective of life.

Author's Note: That's the end of Chapter 4 and did it seem like a pretty deep chapter. I wanted this one to have in depth look into our two main characters but I also wanted to include some funny and cute antics between them as well. But yeah, now that Infinite sees everything, including Nyx, in a whole new light, how's he gonna learn to adjust leaving a villain-free life. And more importantly, when Nyx goes back to help the Resistance with the war relief front, will she be able to keep him a secret from her new friends or will they find out she's taking care of the guy that nearly wiped them out? You'll just have to find out in Chapter 5; until then, this is SuperKirbyLand234 signing out!


	6. Chapter 6

**See Prolouge for Disclaimer**

Chapter 5: New Feelings (Nyx's POV)

I stood by the countertop in my kitchen the next morning, stirring batter in a bowl. I was busy making waffles for me and Infinite to have for breakfast, and I had to alternate between mixing the batter and making sure that the eggs and bacon I was also cooking didn't burn; it wasn't easy but I'm pretty good at multitasking.

As I stood there preparing breakfast, my thoughts drifted back to Infinite again. To think that a year ago, the guy was so dead-set on killing us all and now he's alders on my couch wearing my Dad's old tank top and boy shorts; I almost laughed at the idea that my new roommate was once my mortal enemy, but during this past week, he's shown me that he did indeed have a heart under all that rage and power.

Not only that but in addition to acknowledging his genuine change of heart, I've also began to take notic of Infinite's looks. Last night, when I helped him put on the pajamas so he wouldn't strain himself as his wound was still healing, I couldn't help but notice how rock solid and toned his chest and abs were. And when I helped him slip his arms through the tank top straps, I took a few seconds to feel his biceps and they were hard enough to crush a watermelon.

Then I offered to wash and comb his hair since it was also kind of dirty, and while combing it, I just ran my fingers through it several times to feel how soft and silky it was. Then there was his face: his toned jawline, confident smile and those beautiful multicolored eyes of his...as much I was wanted to deny it, I had to admit to myself that...Infinte was just plain gorgeous! And when we throw in the fact that he's also sweet and gentle and patient on top of him being so attractive, you've got the perfect recipe for a good boyfriend on your hands.

Wait...what? Boyfriend? Where the Hell did that come from? I mean, I did like Infinite but as a friend! I definitely didn't think of him in a romantic way...did I? I wasn't lying when I said he's beautiful and nice, and those are two things I'm sure any girl looks for in potential boyfriend, but there's no way I thought of him like that. And if I did, I'm sure he doesn't feel the same way about me, and why would he? Sure we have a lot in common but I'm just simple small town doctor and he's...so...handsome.

I quickly snap out of my inner debate and set two stacks of three waffles, eggs and bacon onto two plates; then I pour two glasses of orange juice and set them all down on the table, just in time to see Infinite stroll into the dining room yawning and running his hand through his long, pretty hair. Okay, I really need to stop thinking like that or else I'm gonna end up having a stroke.

We sit down quietly to enjoy our breakfast and that was when I realized that my fridge and pantry were running low on foods, and this gave me the perfect distraction from my wild thoughts. "Hey Infinite, I have to go out for a bit. My food stash is looking a little low and I need to stock up, hopefully the markets were one of the places that weren't destroyed. Will you be okay here by yourself?", I said. He looked at me in a way that said he really didn't want me to leave him alone but he said, "It's alright. I can handle being here alone for ten, fifteen minutes or so. You go and get yourself some more groceries".

And with that, I grabbed my utility belt, which held my wallet, and strapped my Wispon to my back before heading for the door. But before I could leave, I was stopped by Infinite. "Wait if you're just going to buy more food, then why are you taking your Wispon?", he asked. "Because even though Eggman is trapped in Null Space, there's reports saying that some of his robotic minions are still roaming around. So I'm taking my Wispon with my on the off chance I get attacked by one of his robots", I said as I left.

It was a pretty long walk into town, but that was only because my house located in a secluded area just outside of Sunset Heights. Once I got into town, I actually saw a few people out and about; I recognized some of them as former members of the Resistance and it looked like they had already got a jumpstart with the rebuilding project.

I looked to see that the market was indeed spared from being destroyed and there was still plenty of food to be had as well, so I grabbed a basket and began grabbing what I needed. As I was heading towards the produce section, I wasn't paying attention and I ended up bumping into someone. "I'm sorry, I didn't see you there", I said. When I looked to see who I had ran into, it was Silver. And to be honest, he was the last person I wanted to see right now.

Don't get me wrong: we are friends but considering I start my volunteer work for the relief project tomorrow and I have our former enemy living in my house, I was planning on avoiding my friends until I figured out a way to tell them about it. Hopefully, I could avoid bringing it up. "Oh, hello Nyx. How have you been?", he asked. "Oh you know, just hanging in there. The world's all broken, you gotta be tough in the face of uncertainty. What are you doing here? And with a clipboard?", I asked as I just noticed the clipboard he held in his hands.

"Oh, Knuckles asked me to fly around all the cities that were attacked and take count of how many buildings were destroyed by Infinite or Eggman's robots. He wants a precise number so we can hurriedly get supplies out there and start work on rebuilding them. Say, don't you have some work to be done for the relief project?", said Silver.

I sighed, "Yeah but I convinced Knuckles to let take a week of reprieve first, I'm actually gonna start my contribution tomorrow. Since the hospitals were spared from the destruction, I have to go around to each one and help in any way I can; they're a bit short on staff since the Resistance wasn't able to save every single doctor", I said as I finished getting what I needed and headed for the self-checkout.

"Yeah, things are looking pretty bad. As I flew through the other cities, I couldn't help but see a bunch of tents clustered together in one big group. A lot of people lost their homes, and...some of the people squatting in those tents were...kids, many of which were either separated from their parents or lost their parents", he said. I don't think Silver realized how tense I suddenly became because then he would've figured out that this conversation was making me feel uncomfortable.

And I guess that allowed him to continued the conversation as we walked outside, "All of this happened because Eggman and Infinite. I know Eggman's trapped in Null Space now and can't hurt anyone, but no one has a clue what happened to Infinite. If you ask me, I hope that creep never shows his face around here ever again, and if he does, he'll be in for serious retribution", he said. That was when I reached my breaking point and turned towards Silver, "You know something? You can be born a psychopath but no one is born a villain, Silver! Did you ever consider that he had a reason for thinking we deserved to be destroyed?!", I yelled in his face.

He tensed up and gave me fearfully confused look but before he could respond, I saw something coming up behind him from the corner of my eye. "Silver, look out!", I shouted as I pushed him out of the way. There was an Eggman robot coming up behind him, it's blaster activated, so I drew my Wispon and fired a single shot at its head, taking it out instantly. I heard some of the people around us cheer at my heroics but I quickly swung away on my grappling hook before Silver could have the time to process what just happened.

I thankfully made back home without anyone, namely Silver, following me, and I walked inside, locking the door behind me. As I stepped into the house, I saw Infinite reclining on the couch and was watching a documentary about sharks, of all things, on my TV. "What? It was either this or a hospital drama, and I found this far more interesting", he said as he noticed me. I ignored him and hurried into the kitchen where I proceeded to put away the food I bought.

Infinite must've felt put-off by my lack of responding to him because I heard him entered the kitchen and he probably stood there staring at tense and shaky shoulders. "Nyx? Are you alright? Did something happen while you were at the market—"

"I don't wanna talk about, Infinite! So just leave me alone!", I screamed at him as I rushed to put away the rest of the food, then hurriedly ran upstairs to my bedroom. I ran into my room and slammed the door shut, but I didn't lock it; I then threw myself onto my bed and buried my face in my pillow as I began crying. I suddenly felt like a jerk for screaming at Infinite, all he did was ask me if I was okay and I responded with anger that wasn't even directed at him.

 _Aww_ , _looks_ _like_ _the_ _little_ _puppy_ _needs_ _to_ _be_ _coddled_ _again_!

I grimaced as I heard that voice in my head that I knew was my dark side trying to figuratively and I guess maybe literally get under my skin like it did when I was in that mental ward. Only this time, I chose to ignore it and I just kept crying until my energy was spent and I eventually fell asleep. I woke up about an hour later, and I knew it was an hour since I came home at 4:00pm and my clock read 5:01pm when I woke up, to the feeling of a hand gently running through my hair.

I rolled over to see Infinite lying next to me, "I figured it be best to give you some space so I left you alone for an hour, and you ended up taking a nap. I took the time to make some instant hot chocolate for you if you like", he said as he handed me the cup. I smiled, Dad would always make me a mug of hot chocolate whenever I felt down; I lifted up and took a long sip of the warm drink before setting down on the side table drawer.

"I'm sorry about my outburst earlier, I was just so frustrated and angry", I said. "About what exactly?", he asked. I then took a deep breath and, despite my bad habit of rambling, decided to pour out my soul to him about what happened.

"Okay...so I go to the market in town and I run into Silver there. He said he's flying around taking note of all the buildings that were destroyed that the relief front has to rebuild and then he talks about seeing a group of people, mostly orphan kids, squatting in tents because their homes were destroyed. And then he says that he has no idea where you went after you were defeat which makes sense, I found you after I defeated you, with Sonic's help, and only I know where you are but I don't plan on telling him or any of the Resistance members that because they'll show up and try to kill you on the spot. Then he says that it's probably for the best if you never showed your face around here again and if you did, the Resistance is going to give you what for. Then I yelled at Silver to be quiet because sure you did bad things but I've gotten to know you and I've learned not everything you did was your fault and then I had to save him from and Eggman robot which made things awkward, so I—"

I was stopped in my little tirade when Infinite grabbed my muzzle and lightly squeezed my cheeks together; he then did something I wasn't prepared for: he leaned forward and pressed his lips against mine. It that moment, I felt like someone just set off a million explosives inside my chest. My breath hitches, my thoughts were racing, my heart was pounding; I didn't know how to process what was going on and I kind of thought that was good thing.

"You talk far too much", Infinite muttered through our kiss as he pressed his lips even further into mine. I felt electricity dance across my face and every atom in my body was tingling. _He's actually kissing me...this feels weird and yet...really good_ , I thought as I couldn't stop myself and I kissed back.

Infinite then yanked me towards him and held me against his chest. My eyes widened in surprise, and I breathe in sharply. Then I relaxed, breathed out, and closed my eyes. His arms tighten around me, and one of his hands tangles itself in my hair. Then, he ran his tongue over my lips, and they opened a little. He didn't waste the chance, and he slipped his tongue into my mouth, exploring thoroughly.

Quickly enough, I felt a little too dominated by his advances, and I'm not one to let that go. So I pushed back, forcing him out and turning the tables, taking charge of the kiss and pushing firmly against him. But if he's as prideful as he was when I knew him as a villain, then he's determined not to be outdone and subdued by me. He forcefully took charge again, and this time, he pushed me down into my mattress, where his hands clenched around my wrists. His body, with it's strong, lean muscles, pressed against mine, squishing me against the bed.

Finally, we needed to take a break to breathe, so Infinite broke the kiss and hovered above me, looking bewildered. "You didn't stop me", he said. I gasped as I tried to regain my breath, I raised an eyebrow at him. "Did you want me to?"

"Well, no but-"

I rolled my eyes and smirked. "Then just shut up and kiss me again", I said as I yanked on one of his long hairs gently. His eyes widened, then narrowed as they traveled down from my eyes. He descended, pressing his lips back to mine, kissing me with fervor. But then he moved, pressing a kiss to my cheek, then just below my ear, another under my jaw, down my neck, and all the way to my collarbone. He shifted the collar of my shirt, pulling it down a little so that he can kiss me—

Then he suddenly stopped and pulled away from me, sitting at the far end of my bed with a look of shame in his eyes, "Infinite, what's wrong?", I asked. He looked away as shoulders started shaking, "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! You took a moment to look to me for comfort and I use it to force myself upon you! This is just more evidence that you should've just left me to die in that alleyway! First I slaughter your friends, then I attack you and your new friends and now I just tried to have my way with you; if I hadn't stop himself, I don't know what could've happened. Oh Nyx, please...please forgive me", he shouted as I saw tears run down his face.

I threw my arms around him and hugged him tightly, "Don't cry, Infinite, it's okay. You didn't force yourself on me; you kissed me first and I decided to kiss you back after I got over my initial shock. Then I let you kiss me again and do all that other stuff even though I could've said no but, like you said, I didn't stop you. It was all consensual but, you're right about one thing: I think we're moving a little too fast. I've just learned to trust you and I do like you and I'm willing to forgive but I think it'd be best if we just remain friends...for now, at least", I said.

Infinite wiped his eyes and smiled at me, "Well, I guess that makes sense and...ever since I lost my squad, I've never really had anyone I could call my friend. So...yes, let's just be friends and let things naturally work their way up to that point", he said. I smiled as we both shared a warm hug, "Now then, why don't we go back downstairs and I'll make us some dinner while we watch a movie together? I think that'll help us recover from the initial awkwardness", I said. Infinite laughed as he followed me back downstairs; he sat in the living room while I was in the kitchen, hard at work making chicken pot pie for the two of us to enjoy together.

When it finished, I sat down next to him on the couch and we ate our pies while wrapped in blankets, watching a movie called "Curse of the Demon"; it was one of those cheesy black and white horror films from the 1950s. I think I must've gotten bored halfway through the movie because I remembered falling asleep at the thirty minute mark, but I also remembered leaning against Infinite as I did fall asleep. I felt him wrap his arm, as well as his blanket, around me and pull me close to him so I could snuggle into his warmth; I smiled in my sleep as he hugged me.

Author's Note: And so ends Chapter 5 and now things are becoming interesting. Is Nyx beginning to think the Resistance was in the wrong this whole time? Or is she just frustrated about not knowing how to truly feel about the situation? Will Silver figure out her dirty little secret? What new developments lie ahead in the future of Nyx and Infinite's friendship. Find out next time in Chapter 6; until then, this is SuperKirbyLand234 signing out!


	7. Chapter 7

**See Prologue for Disclaimer**

Chapter 6: The Relief Project Part 1 (Nyx's POV)

I sat at the table the next morning having a breakfast of a cream cheese bagel and coffee, normally I'd have a much bigger breakfast than that but I didn't have time to waste that morning.

After I finished I had to get ready and be out the door in no more than ten minutes, today was the day I begin helping the others with the Relief Project and I had to head back to the Resistance Base to get my briefing on what I'm supposed to do.

I looked over to see Infinite vacuuming the floor, since I was going to be gone for basically the entire day, he offered to do all my household chores for me. I wrote him a detailed list of what needed to be done so he'd know what to do.

I finished my breakfast and went back upstairs to change out of my pajamas, I then walked into my makeshift infirmary and loaded my larger first-aid kit into a backpack; I would've taken one of the smaller ones but this one had far more medical supplies, and for as big as it was, it wasn't really all that heavy to carry.

I walked back downstairs, getting ready to head out the door. "Off you go then...go and...clean up my mess", Infinite said sadly. I looked at him in sympathy before going to give him a hug, "It's okay, I know you're sorry. Now remember what I told you: keep the door locked, the curtains pulled down over the windows and don't make too much noise. I know I live in a secluded area just outside of Sunset Heights but that doesn't mean no one is going to walk by and notice you", I said.

He gave me a smile before I turned around, grabbed my Wispon and headed out the door. Since it'd take too long to walk, I used my grappling hook to swing my way to the Resistance Base, this method of travel was much faster as opposed to me having to walk all the way there.

Finally I arrived and I showed my I.D. To the guards out front so they'd let me in; once I got to the main briefing room, I only saw Knuckles in there looking over some paperwork and schematics, which led me to assume that I was very late.

"Oh no, am I too late for the briefing? Knuckles I'm so sorry, I tried to get here a little early but..." I trailed off as he looked up at me but didn't look the least bit upset, in fact him seemed happy that I was here. "Oh Nyx, good you came. Everyone else decided to get a super early jump on their tasks, but you're just in time to receive your job", he said.

I sighed in relief knowing I wasn't in any trouble and I was about to sent out on my next mission, "So...what's my contribution to the Relief Project, Knuckles?", I asked.

He picked up a clipboard and looked it over, "Since you're the only doctor available at the moment, your job is a pretty big and important one. You see, there's been tons of refugee camps set up everywhere until we can completely rebuild everything that was destroyed. So I need you to go into every camp and not only take note of how many people, both Mobian and Human, are squatting there but also provide food, water and medical attention.

"Now I was gonna have Sonic go with you to help out, but he's already busy helping the Search and Rescue teams, so Shadow and Silver will be going with you instead. They're in the supply room loading everything onto the truck you'll be using to transport the supplies to the refugee camps.

"Take this clipboard, on it there is a list of each camps' location and another list for you to take count of all the refugees. We need an exact number so we know how many survived and we can work on getting them replaced back in their old homes once the Rebuilding Project is finished", he said as he handed me the clipboard with a pen tied to a string attached to the top.

"Thanks Knuckles, I'll do what I can to help these people", I said as I left the briefing room to go find Shadow and Silver. I quickly did find them at the base's loading area where they and a couple of the soldiers were loading crates labeled "Food" and "Water" into the back of a white delivery truck that had the Resistance's logo painted on the sides of it.

They quickly noticed me as I approached them, "Oh hello, Nyx. Good to see you here", said Silver. I'm immediately glad he didn't seem to remember our little talk from yesterday or...maybe he did, he just didn't care since we had an important job to do. It was a good thing he didn't bring it up too; we were already going to a camp filled homeless and possibly starving people, we didn't need the extra uncomfortableness.

"Nice to see you've joined the cause, Pipsqueak. I can only assume Knuckles filled you in on what has to be done, so help us get these crates onto the truck", said Shadow. Oh yeah... _that_! Ever since I first met him when I first joined the Resistance, Shadow has always referred to me as "Pipsqueak".

Why does he called me this name? Because on my first day, I was pretty shy and feeble and shaken up, not to mention I'm a whole foot shorter than him, so he calls me Pipsqueak.

He did tell me before that he does value me as a member of the team, that I'm a lot stronger and braver than I look, and that the nickname is just a friendly and playful joke, but that doesn't stop it from still being annoying.

I put my annoyance aside as I got to work loading the crates onto the truck, once it was full enough, we closed the back of the truck. We climbed up front as Shadow turned on the truck and began driving down the road to the first of the camps, "So where are we going first?", asked Silver.

I picked up the clipboard to take a look, "The first refugee camp is in Sector 415-702, otherwise known as Metropolis", I said. The drive wasn't too long as we came upon the camp that was surrounded by a eight foot tall wall made of cinderblocks held together by mortar and cement.

At the corners of each wall were guard towers, each with their own armed guard and there were two more armed guards posted out front. "Um, what's with the heavy artillery? Do they...think the refugees pose some kind of threat?", I asked.

"No, there's still tons of Eggman robots running around and causing trouble, so there's armed stationed at all of the refugee camps. They're not there to keep the refugees in, they're there to keep the dangerous robots out", said Shadow.

The three of us stepped out and showed our I.D.s to the guards, then they told us to drive around to the camps loading bay to unpack all the crates. Once the crates were out and properly stacked into one area, we opened them up and began to distribute them amongst the refugees.

"Someone please help! My husband...he's not breathing!", I heard a woman's voice scream. I looked to my left and saw a female beaver bent over the fallen form of her husband, I then saw one of the guards run up to them to look over the situation. "Is anybody here a doctor?", he shouted.

Gripping the strap to my backpack tightly, I hurriedly ran towards them. "I'm a doctor: Nyx Snowfall M.D. Ma'am, I'm gonna have to ask you to stand back and give me some room. Your husband has most likely passed out due to a heart attack", I said as I removed my pack and gently pushed the beaver woman away.

I then placed my ear to her husband's chest and heard a very faint heartbeat, so I ripped open his shirt, placed my hands on his chest and began performing CPR. I alternated between giving him chest compressions and breathing into his mouth to put some air in his lungs, but he wasn't giving me any signs of life.

"Come on, sir, don't give up on me! You can survive, you've got to fight back!", I shouted as I continued giving him CPR. After the eleventh or twelfth attempt, I pressed my ear to his chest and, to my horror, I heard...nothing; I tried so hard to save him but in the end...it just wasn't enough.

I brought my hand up to his face and gently closed his eyes before using the blanket he had used to keep himself warm to cover his lifeless body. I then looked down at my watch, "Time of death: 9:23am. I'm sorry ma'am, I tried but your husband...he's gone", I said to the beaver woman who immediately began crying hysterically and then threw herself into my arms.

"NOOOO! Oh Darryl!", she shouted as I held her back while two of the guards carried her dead husband away on a stretcher. She then looked at me with sad, glossy eyes. "This wasn't supposed to happen! He needs to be here!", she screamed. I looked at her in sympathy, "I'm sorry ma'am, but I did what I could—"

I was cut off when she grabbed my hand and pressed against her stomach; to my shock, I felt movement within her body which could only mean one thing. "You...you're pregnant?!", I said. I looked back and Shadow and Silver and even they were equally as shocked as I was.

"Yes, and with twins! Now that my husband is gone, what am I supposed to do?!", she shouted as she continued to cry. I then put on the bravest face I could muster as I reached into one of the crates and pulled out two packs of food and a bottle of water.

"All you can do now is live on, survive! You're carrying precious cargo and if they are to be brought safely into our newly rebuilt world, you have to take care of yourself. Your husband would want you to live and raise his children", I said as I gave her the food and water.

She still had tears in her eyes but she smiled at me before walking back off into her tent. I stood up and went back to where Shadow and Silver stood by the rest of the crates, they both gave me small smiles; I knew they were proud of the way I acted.

I knew these people were sad, scared and broken, and things were only going to get harder for them the longer they had to stay here until the Rebuilding Project was completed, but there was one job I and the rest of the Resistance had that was even more important than the jobs we already had: we had to be strong for all these poor people who had nothing left of the lives they once had except their friends and family and the clothes on their backs.

"This is only the beginning of the hard times, isn't it guys?", I asked Shadow and Silver. They both nodded in agreement as went about our task of giving food and water to the refugees while I took down just how many of them were living here.

There were originally forty but since that beaver man died, it was now down to thirty nine, with two more on the way; I looked up and saw that same beaver woman softly stroking her belly while quietly weeping for her husband, "Chaos, please give me strength", I whispered to myself. Chaos only knows, I need all the strength I could get to handle what's coming soon.

To be continued...

Author's Note: There ends Chapter 6 and part one of "The Relief Project" subplot; I plan on separating this subplot into four parts so I could explore just how much damage was done to Mobius during the war with Eggman and show every characters react to it all, especially Nyx's. See what new horrors lie in Wait in Chapter 7; until then, this is SuperKirbyLand234 signing out!


	8. Chapter 8

**See Prologue for Disclaimer**

Chapter 7: The Relief Project Part 2 (Third Person POV)

Back at Nyx's house, Infinite had just finished up the list of chores she left for him and sat on the couch to relax for a minute. It was noon and Nyx was still out, but that was to be expected, she was helping the Resistance with the Relief Project. Infinite wished he could've been out there helping her because...technically, he caused all that damage and should be cleaning up his own mess, but he was smart enough to know if he set one foot out there, the Resistance would tear him apart.

"It's ironic actually, I'm not helping when I should be and if I do, I'll either be imprisoned or killed on the spot", he said to himself. Feeling bored, Infinite got up and started exploring the rest of the house; he decided to steer clear of the memorial room and instead went into Nyx's room again. A part of him felt that this was wrong because he was invading her privacy but another was curious about what he'd find in there.

Unlike last night, this time he was able to get a good look at Nyx's room: it only consisted of a full sized four poster bed, a large dresser drawer, a side table drawer and a closet. Inside the dresser, Infinite just found some clothes; in the closet was more clothes but on the floor, he found an old cardboard box. Lifting the lid, he found it was full of tapes labeled "Home Movies" and quickly put together that this was a collection of videos from Nyx's childhood.

"Hmm, I wonder...", he trailed off as he took the box of tapes downstairs and sat back on the couch in front of the TV. Infinite picked up the first tape entitled "Our Little Snowflake" and inserted it into the tape player; it took a minute for the video to start but when it did, Infinite was greeted by a scene of a light pink female wolf lying in a hospital bed as a small bundle was given to her by the doctor, "Congratulations Mrs. Snowfall, you've given birth to a healthy baby girl", said the doctor.

The wolf woman held the baby up to the camera so her face could be seen: she had light purple fur with a white muzzle and dark purple hair. The person holding the camera then turned it around to reveal the one holding it as a male wolf with dark purple hair and light purple fur, "That's our precious little snowflake", he said with a wide smile. He then turned the camera back around to continue filming the woman and her newborn, "That's right, honey. Welcome to Mobius, my sweet Nyx", said the woman.

That was when Infinite realized what this was: it was a home movie documenting the day Nyx was born and the male and female wolves in the video were her parents; the video soon ended and the tape player ejected the tape, Infinite pulled it out and placed it back into the box. "If only I had that, maybe I wouldn't have turned out the way I did", he said sadly before deciding to put the box of tapes away.

Meanwhile in Central City, Sonic was hard at work helping the Search and Rescue team comb the rubble looking for any people who went missing after not being successfully evacuated when the destruction happened; they were able to evacuate the city just before the attacks but that didn't mean everyone made it out in time.

A group of workers came by with a large hovering platform as Sonic used his super speed to create a twister big and strong enough to lift piles of rubble off the ground and onto the platforms to be carried away, this process made it easier to find any missing people and speed up the Rebuilding Project. Just as he was about to create another twister to lift away another pile of rubble, Sonic heard a sound coming from said pile. It almost sounded like someone crying.

"There's somebody under there! Amy, I need your help!", he shouted. Amy was also there as she also helped to clear away rubble using strong and precise whacks of her hammer; she rushed over to Sonic's side as she swung her hammer back and forth, smacking debris every which way. When about half the rubble was cleared out, they saw the source of the crying: it was a human baby lying under the rubble entangled in its mother's arms and half covered by her body.

Amy reached in to pick up the baby and found that, aside from being a little dirty, he/she was okay but when Sonic reached in to help the mother out, he found that she wasn't breathing. "At least we were able to save one of them", he said sadly. The baby was soon taken by the medical team while the mother's corpse was taken by the coroners, with the two hedgehogs looking on in sorrow.

"Oh Sonic, that was just so...awful!", said Amy as she leaned into him for comfort. "I know it looks bad, but remember: we gotta be strong for these people. They've had their lives ruined in this war and, as the brave heroes who fought back, we need to be strong for them so they'd have some hope to cling to in this terrible time", said Sonic.

Amy nodded as she picked up her hammer and went to clear out another pile of debris, but not before quickly giving Sonic a peck on the cheek. He was taken back for a second before brushing it off and going to clear out another pile of rubble.

Meanwhile in Westopolis, Tails stood by overlooking some building schematics with a construction worker as he was in charge of the Rebuilding Project and had oversee the construction of all the new buildings to replaced the ones destroyed in the war. Tails was also accompanied by Rouge and the Chaotix as the former was using her ability to fly to help lift things into place and the latter were transporting building materials into the area.

"Tails, I think it's time we all took a break and had lunch. How 'bout you?", the lead construction worker. Tails looked at his watch and saw that it was twenty minutes after twelve, so maybe it was time they stop to have some lunch. Tails grabbed a nearby bullhorn and turned it on, "Hey everybody! We're taking a ten minute lunch break!", he called out. Everyone stopped what they were doing and went about finding places to sit so they could eat the lunches they brought with them.

Rouge sat on a steel beam high up off the ground and was about to indulge herself with a turkey sub when she saw something out of the corner of her eye: it was two Mobian children, a dog and a ferret, scavenging through a trashcan trying to find something to eat.

Rouge felt sorry for the two starving little ones and decided to help them; she flew down and walked over to them, both of the kids cowering away as she got closer. "No no, you don't have to be scared. I'm a member of the Resistance and I thought you might need this", she said as she offered them her sandwich.

The two kids looked hesitant at first, almost as if they felt bad for taking her food, but Rouge reassured them. "It's okay, sweeties. You need this a lot more than I do", she said. The kids smiled as the dog took the sub, split it in half and gave one half to the ferret, "T-t-thank y-y-you, m-m-ma'am", the dog stuttered before the two of walked away.

That moment almost brought Rouge to tears but she knew she had to be strong, people were still suffering and, as one of the heroes, she needed to be brave when others weren't.

The sound of a horn blaring shook her out of her daydreaming as it was time to get back to work, Rouge sighed as she flew back over to the skeletal structure of the soon-be-finished building and picked up a drill so she can put another steel beam into place.

Meanwhile in Station Square, Nyx, Shadow and Silver were making another routine stop at another refugee camp to deliver food, water and medical help while also taking number of how many people were squatting there. So far they had been to over ten different refugee camps in Emerald Coast, Mystic Ruins, Emerald Town, Rail Canyon, Seaside Hill, and Grand Metropolis. Each camp had around the same number of people, between twenty and thirty, and that wasn't counting those who had died before and after the trio arrived.

After they had just finished distributing food and water to the refugee camp in Frog Forest, Nyx had to sit down and take a moment to rest herself; Shadow walked up to her offering her a bottle of water which she gladly took. "You doing okay?", he asked. "Oh yeah, sure I am. If you define okay as in having to treat three broken arms, six broken legs, a dislocated shoulder, blunt force trauma, a fractured pelvis and having to perform emergency surgery on a baby, then yes. I am definitely okay, Shadow!", Nyx rambled before falling backwards onto the crate she as sitting on.

Shadow felt sympathy for her as he patted her on the shoulder, "Try not to get so down on yourself, things look bad now but they will eventually get better", he said. Nyx turned to look at him with a somber expression, "Shadow, it's hard for me to think that when I've tried to keep four people, one of which was only a child, from dying, only for all of them to die in my arms. Oh and that kid I just mentioned? She looked me in the eye and pleaded with me not to let her die, but in the end, my efforts weren't good enough. Do you know what it's like to watch someone die?", said Nyx sadly.

She then noticed the faraway look in Shadow's eyes and was about to apologize for asking such a dark question when he finally spoke, "Look, some people are going to die and, even with your skills as a doctor, you're not going to be able to save them all.

"But do you know what you can do? You can stop dwelling on the people you _didn't_ save and focus on the ones you _can_ save, the people who are still alive are the most important ones right now. And in regards to the dead ones, we'll look at it like this: at least they no longer have to suffer, and if we keep working to restore our world, then the living ones won't have to either", he said.

Shadow's little speech warmed Nyx's heart as she stood up and gave him a big hug, "Thanks for the pep talk, Shadow. I really needed it and hey, I guess Sonic isn't the only one who can motivate somebody to work hard", she said as she walked away to go help someone else. As awkward as the sudden hugging was, Shadow still gave a small smile knowing he helped Nyx out of her funk, "That was really sweet of you to help her out like that", said a voice. Shadow turned around to see that it was Silver who had spoken to him, prompting the black and red hedgehog to smile.

"Well we've got work to do and people to help, we can't waste time sitting around thinking about what could've been, we need to focus on the here and now", said Shadow.

He then patted Silver on the shoulder which made the white hedgehog blush, "Speaking of which, I'm going to need your help getting the last of the crates off the truck so, why don't you get right on that?", said Shadow as he walked off, giving Silver a smile as he did. Silver swallowed back a lump that was forming in his throat and managed to smile back before following after Shadow. _I really hope I get to help you out more often after this_ , he thought,

Author's Note: That ends Chapter 7 and part 2 of the Relief Project subplot. Come back soon for Chapter 8 and part 3, which by the way will be the last part as I decided to shorten this subplot down to three parts instead of four because I only have enough material to fill up three parts. Until next time, this is SuperKirbyLand234 signing out!


	9. Chapter 9

**See Prologue for Disclaimer**

Chapter 8: The Relief Project Part 3 (Third Person POV)

The day was finally over as Shadow, Silver and Nyx were climbed back into the truck to head back to the Resistance Base to report our progress; Nyx wasn't gonna lie: after running around, tending to the sick and injured and having to sadly inform people that their loved ones had passed on, she was both physically and emotionally exhausted.

When they finally got back, Nyx saw that Sonic and the others were already back at the base ready to report back to Knuckles, who stood by the main computer. "Okay everyone, I want a full briefing of today's progress. Nyx, let's start with your group", he said.

"Well, Shadow, Silver and I distributed food and water to all the refugees. I treated the sick and injured to the best of my abilities, and I took note of all the people populating the camps: not counting the ones who haven't been born yet or the ones who have sadly passed on, there are between twenty to thirty people living in each camp, half are Humans and the other half are Mobians", Nyx said confidently.

Knuckles nodded in approval, "Good. Sonic, how did you and Amy do with the Search and Rescue team?", he said.

"Amy and I, along with the others, were able to find at least forty people who were reported missing when we evacuated. Of those forty, I'm sorry to say, ten of them were either already dead or died a few hours later after being taken to the hospital. The remaining thirty, aside from having cuts and bruises and being covered in dirt, they're not hurt too bad and the docs say they'll make a full recovery", said Sonic.

Knuckles smiled at this, "Alright, a little collateral damage, but still good progress. And finally: Tails, how goes the Rebuilding Project?", he asked.

"Since the construction crew got an early start about three weeks ago, we're making great headway in rebuilding all the destroyed buildings and houses. If we keep this up, we should be done in about a month, four weeks at the earliest", said Tails.

"Alright, that's what I like to hear. And I just received word that the Rebuilding Projects in Soleanna, Apotos, Spagonia and Mazuri having going well and they'll be done in about three weeks or so. The teams in Chun-nan, Shamar, and Adabat are still working hard to finish and it's been difficult in Holoska due to the constant cold weather, but they're making it work. I'm just glad that back over here in the U.F. we'll soon be finished and we can get these people placed as soon as possible", said Knuckles.

Nyx stepped forward, "I know it's very important we get those poor people properly placed back where they belong, but you sound like you're in a hurry, Knuckles. Why is that?", she asked. Knuckles turned to her, "I'm glad you asked, Nyx. In case you haven't noticed, we're currently in late Autumn; soon Winter will be here and the last thing we want is to have all those surviving citizens stuck outside in flimsy tents during blizzards, which is why it's important we finish asap.

"The same can be said for all those other countries I mention, except for Mazuri and Holoska because the former is mostly a desert country that doesn't even get much rain let alone snow and the latter is located far up north where it's always cold and those people have long since grown used to it", he said.

Nyx nodded in understanding, Winter was known for its cold weather and frequent snow storms and that meant those refugees needed to be placed back home before the snow hit or else more people were going to be lost and Chaos be damned if Nyx wasn't about to just sit by and let them die of hypothermia. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed the awkward silence that fell over the compound nor did she notice Amy step forward to break the silence.

"Hey, don't look so glum everyone. Like Knuckles said, we're making good progress; soon everyone will be back in their old homes and our world will be back to the way it used to be. Not to mention next week is December and with it comes Christmas, which means we'll be able to not only celebrate the peace we brought back to Mobius but also the best holiday along with it!

"In fact, I say we should pre-celebrate! Let's throw a party here at the base tonight to celebrate our great progress in restoring our world and then next week, we can start putting up Christmas decorations all over the base and even have our Christmas party here. What do you guys say?", she said.

Everyone silently thought about it before there were smiles all around, nods in agreement and excited whispering. "Huh, that's actually not a bad idea, Amy", said Sonic. "With how serious and somber everyone's been the past few weeks after the war ended, it'd be cool to just unwind and get ready for the holidays", said Vector. Nyx suddenly got very happy and excited, "And this'll be the first Christmas I've spent with you guys, my new friends. And after a day like today, I could use some fun to lift my spirits", she said.

"Then it's settled: we'll all meet back here later tonight to celebrate the successful progress of the Relief Project and then next week, after we're done with our tasks, we'll start getting the base ready for Christmas. So everyone, go home and take a breather before you come back here later at around 7pm. Rouge, I'm gonna need you're help getting party supplies and snacks", said Knuckles. Rouge gladly joined him to go get the supplies for the party while everyone else went back to their homes to relax and get ready for the party later on.

Nyx swung her way back home to find Infinite asleep on her couch while the TV was quietly showing music videos on the Music Channel, she silently chuckled at this as she crept up the stairs towards her to some clean clothes before going into the bathroom to take a shower; after today, she didn't want to go to the party smelling like sweat and other people's blood. Nyx decided to take her time and have a nice, hot and relaxing bath as it was only 5:30pm and the party wasn't until 7pm.

She added her favorite strawberry scented bubble bath to the water and slowly slid into the tub once it was full of pink bubbles; Nyx sighed as she felt her tense muscles relaxing and all the stress of the day just melting away. It had been a rough day for her, there were actually more sick and injured people in those refugee camps than she had expected: there were several people with broken bones, one human child had pneumonia and there was an old rabbit man whose foot was so broken beyond repair, that Nyx had to perform an emergency amputation right there with the basic supplies she had.

"If I work any harder than I did today, I'm gonna have to start putting in for overtime. Especially considering after the world is back on track, I'm gonna have to go back to working in the hospital like I was before the war", she said out loud to herself.

Nyx sat there in the soothing hot bath, daydreaming about the future and her friends and Infinite and Christmas, until she began to actually dream because the warmth of the bath had caused her to fall asleep; thankfully her upper body was leaning out of the tub as her arms laid on its rim while her head laid on her arms, so there was no fear in her possibly drowning by accident.

It wasn't more than twenty minutes later when Nyx was awoken from her short nap by the sound of banging and grunting coming from downstairs; she groaned as she pulled herself out of the now luke-warm water and dried off her body, putting on her bathrobe and walking downstairs. "Ugh, Infinite what's all the noise about—"

Nyx stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the scene before her: Infinite stood, all scuffled and panting, holding a large bowl in his hand that had a small splotch of blood on one end of it, and on the floor laid Silver's unmoving body as blood began to flow from the right side of his forehead. "Infinite...please excuse my language, but...WHAT THE ACTUAL CHAOS DAMNED HELL HAPPENED?!", screamed Nyx as she was both shocked and somewhat angry.

"He came in through the front door calling your name, I woke up and I saw him holding your Wispon; he spotted me right away and immediately threw himself on me. We got into a scuffle and I panicked, so I..."

"So you beat Silver over the head with my ceramic potpourri bowl I keep on my coffee table?!"

"Um...if it makes you feel better, I didn't beat him with it...I only hit him with it once and he went down instantly".

Nyx face-palmed before she dropped down onto her knees and began to look over her fallen friend, "I must've left my Wispon back at the base and Silver was trying to return it to me, probably asked around town for the direction to my house. And I must've been so tired that I forgot to lock the front door. Well...he's not dead, thank Chaos, he's just unconscious. I'll have to bring him up to the attic to patch him up", she said.

Nyx slipped her arms beneath Silver's limp body and gently lifted him up, carrying him upstairs to hurt makeshift infirmary. She carefully laid him on the bed and went to get some antiseptic wipes and bandages; she cleaned off the blood and then wrapped the bandage around Silver's head. Nyx then got her oxygen machine and turned it on, placing the cone end over Silver's nose and mouth.

She then walked back downstairs, "Okay I've cleaned and bandages Silver's wound, the injury doesn't look too bad but he'll be out for a while. Best case scenario: he'll wake up with a mild concussion and a splitting headache, worst case scenario: he'll wake up with long term memory lost. I pray to Chaos that it's not the latter...", Nyx trailed off as she saw Infinite sitting on the couch with his head in his hands and his shoulders shaking.

Upon further inspection, Nyx was that he was crying into his hands. "Infinite, what's wrong? Why are you crying?", she asked. "It's because I've once again caused you strife! I just attacked one of your friends...again! And nearly killed him...again! Maybe...maybe this was all a mistake, I shouldn't have survived! I should've died that alley; I haven't really changed, I'm still the Chaos damned monster I was when the war started! I don't deserve your kindness and generosity, I deserve to die! I...I...I—"

Infinite was cut off as his ranting quickly devolved into him breathing heavily and looking as though he was going to pass out; Nyx quickly realized that he was having another panic attack and she needed to calm him down somehow because she only had one oxygen machine and Silver was using it. Nyx pulled Infinite into a tight but comforting hug and began rubbing his scalp, she rocked him back and forth while humming the song her mother sung to her, and for added measure, she gave him a tiny peck on the cheek.

Infinite slowly started to calm down as his body relaxed, his heart stopped racing and he began breathing normally; Nyx's embrace was so warm and comforting that he nuzzled into her and even whimpered like a scared puppy, "Shhh...it's okay, I've got you. You're okay and nothing bad is gonna happen to you, I promise", Nyx whispered soothingly. Infinite started to slowly doze off in Nyx's arms due to the scalp massage and the comforting gestures.

Nyx carefully placed him down on the couch as he curled up into a fetal position with his tail between his legs; Nyx was all too familiar with that pose, as it was common amongst all canine Mobians to tuck their tail between their legs out of fear or submission to a high authority in the pack. Growing up, Nyx only ever tucked in her tail out of fear certain things like the dark or spiders for example, as a well behaved kid her parents rarely ever had to show their dominance over her thus making her submissive.

She bent down on her knees and stroked Infinite's head with her hand, "Not only are you so adamant that no one calls you weak, you still seem to be so convinced you didn't deserve to be rescued", she said. Nyx went over to her house phone and called up the Resistance Base.

"Hey um...Knuckles, it's me. I'm not gonna be able to make it to the party tonight. Why? Um...I have...a...family emergency! Yeah, my cousin Lexi needs me to come right away and it can't be put off, so yeah I'm sorry I won't make it. Oh okay, thanks for being so understanding and tell Rouge I said thanks for saving me a piece of cake. Bye", she said as she hung up the phone.

Now, not everything Nyx said was a total lie, she did indeed have a cousin named Lexington or "Lexi" for short but he lived on the other side of the planet and he's not much of a fighter; he was one of the citizens who were successfully evacuated and it was only just last week when he was able to go back home after his house was rebuilt, he had also frequently visited Nyx in the past during her depression bout after her parents' death.

But everything else Nyx said was a lie: she wasn't going to see her cousin because of a family emergency but rather she had two unconscious guys in her house, one she had to explain things to and the other whom she felt needed to explain a few things himself. Nyx was starting to grow concern at every chance Infinite got to berate himself on why he shouldn't have been saved and would've been better off if left to die, he was slowly turning into what Nyx was like three years ago and that was beginning to scare her.

It also made her start thinking about Infinite in a more critical lens: he had a massive inferiority complex as well as a blatant self persecution complex and both those things weren't very healthy mindsets for anyone to have nor are they that easy to acquire.

"There's no way losing one fight with Shadow, of all people, gave him such a deep rooted inferiority complex. I also refuse to believe that his actions as a villain alone are enough for him to think so lowly of himself that he shouldn't have been saved.

"There's something else going on with you, Infinite, and whether you want to or not, you're gonna tell me when you wake up. I'm also gonna have to explain to Silver what happened, that is, if he even remembers what happened or who I even am when he wakes up", said Nyx.

She sat down at the far end of the couch and sighed in frustration while placing her hands on her face, wondering what life choices had brought to this point in time. "Oh dear sweet Chaos above, how the Hell do I get myself into these messes? I must just have a talent for attracting this kind of insanity to me", she said.

Author's Note: That ends Chapter 8. Now things have gotten serious: now that he knows, or if he still remembers after taking that blow to the head, will Silver tell the Resistence that Infinite is alive and Nyx is harboring him? Can Nyx convince Silver that Infinite has changed and to keep him a secret? And can Nyx also convince Infinite to explain to her exactly how he developed such a deep rooted inferiority complex as well as a persecution complex or will it be too much emotional baggage for him? Find out next time in Chapter 9; until then, this SuperKirbyLand234 signing out!


	10. Chapter 10

**See Prologue for Disclaimer**

Chapter 9: Difficult Explanations (Nyx's POV)

I woke up the next morning to the sunlight glaring down on my face, honestly after what happened last night, I didn't want to get up but I knew I had to. I had to check on both Silver and Infinite, and I had some explaining to do to the former while the latter had some explaining to do for me; I sat up and stretched my arms as I climbed out of bed, rubbing the sand out of my eyes.

After combing my hair and brushing my teeth, I went up to my attic/infirmary to check on Silver. He was still out but he seemed to be breathing normally, I placed my hand upon his shoulder and gently shook him to wake him up. His eyes slowly opened and he slowly grabbed his forehead as he winced, I could only imagine the pounding headache he must've had.

I grabbed a nearby bottle of headache medicine and poured the liquid into the small dosage cup, I handed it to Silver as he pulled off the oxygen mask and was trying to process where he was. "Hey Silver, how do you feel?", I asked. "Ugh, like I got punched in the face by one of Eggman's robots. Ow, my head is pounding", he said as he rubbed his head to ease the pain. I then gave him the medicine, "Um, Silver...do you by any chance remember what happened before you woke up?", I asked him.

Silver dranked the medicine and looked at me, "Yes, I remember: when you left the base you left behind your Wispon, I tried to follow you so I could give it back but you swung away too fast on your grappling hook. I remembered you once said you live in Sunset Heights, so I asked some people there where your house was. I was directed to the more secluded, suburban part of town and found your house; your door was unlocked for some reason, and when I walked in calling out for you, I saw..."

Silver trailed off as the door opened and in walked the last person who needed to be in here right now: Infinite. He probably woke up and wanted to ask me to make some breakfast for him and since Silver was here, he must've known I went to check on him. Upon seeing him, Silver tensed up. "Now I remember! Infinite's in your house! And he attacked me! Nyx, get behind, I'll protect you!", he said.

He pushed me out of the way and tried to use his psychokinesis on Infinite but he quickly lose his concentration as his headache flared up again, making him clutch his head in pain and fall to his knees. I quickly stepped between them to break the tension, "Silver, stop, wait! Infinite isn't going to hurt me or you, I mean, yeah he did knock you out but only cause you scared him..."

" _I_ scared _him_?! Have you forgotten who this is, Nyx?! He's the one who helped Eggman destroy our homes, kill innocent people and almost destroyed the planet by dropping the sun down on us, and you're saying I scared him?!"

I honestly couldn't blame Silver for thinking that way, the darker side of myself still thinks like that, but my lighter side was stronger and it told me what was right. "Silver, I know he did terrible things while working with that rotund bastard, but unlike Eggman, Infinite was remorseful. He realized what he had done was wrong and he's truly sorry for it, he's been nothing but a real sweetheart ever since I brought him to my home after saving him from bleeding to death in an alleyway.

"I promise you, Silver, that I'm not lying when I say he's a changed man and he doesn't want to hurt anyone or destroy anything anymore. He's so ashamed he constantly apologizes for making small mistakes and keeps insisting he should've been left for dead so he won't hurt anyone else, especially me. If that's not the attitude of a guy whose genuinely sorry for he did, I don't know what is.

"So please, Silver, I'm asking you as a friend: please don't tell the others about this! If they find out, they'll either send Infinite to prison or shoot him dead on the spot, and if that happened, I could never forgive myself if I saved him only to let something bad happen to him. Please, don't tell them, at least not until everything calms down and I can find a way to tell them myself; Infinite won't hurt anyone and he's good now, I know, I can see it in his eyes. He's changed for the better", I said.

After I finished my little speech, Silver's stern expression slowly softened and he let out a sigh. "Okay Nyx, I don't trust him but I _do_ trust you. You've been nothing but helpful and honest and a good friend ever since we met and I know you wouldn't try to trick or lie to me, so...I trust your judgement...I don't exactly agree with it but I trust it and if you say he's changed well...I guess I can accept it. And I promise that I won't tell the others he's here and I never break my promises", he said.

I was so happy to hear that that I leapt forward and gave him a big hug, "Thank you, Silver! You're such a good friend!", I said. He smiled and hugged me back before we broke apart and I turned to Infinite, "Well I'm glad everything worked out okay, now how about some breakfast?", he said.

That's when I adopted a stern look, "Not so fast, Infinite. Now onto you: your deep rooted inferiority complex goes much deeper than simply being called "weak" by Shadow right after he wiped the floor with you, and you seem to have a bit of a self persecution complex due to every time you make a mildly bad decision, you're always berating yourself and saying you should've been left for dead", I said.

"So...what's your point?", he asked. "My point is both those complexes are not only unhealthy but they're also not so easily acquired, Shadow calling you weak and being a destructive monster aren't enough to develop them. Something else happened in your life that caused them to be brought on and I want you to tell me what they are", I said. Infinite tensed up and had a look of fearful anguish on his face, almost like he was about to cry. "No, I can't! Nyx please, don't make me relive my past...it...its too painful", he said.

His reaction broke my heart and I went over to hug him, "It's okay. I know it hurts, trust me I do, but just like me you'll feel better once you've gotten it off your chest and I'll know just what made you act the way you did", I said. As much as he didn't want to, he still agreed to it and I was going to help him.

The three of us went downstairs and I laid him down on my couch, "Infinite, I'm gonna use the same method my therapist used to get me to open up during my time in the mental ward: hypnosis. This will allow me to get you to open up about your past without causing you too much emotional pain because you'll be unconsciously telling everything I need to know. So, just lie there and relax while I get everything ready", I said.

"Wait...you were in a mental ward?! Why?!", asked Silver in shock. "Because I suffered from crippling depression and suicidal tendacies after my parents were murdered three years ago, Silver. And that is another thing I want you to promise not to tell anyone about", I said in a rather steadfast way. Silver nodded and I went back to gathering what I needed.

I turned on my radio and had it play soothing music, then I walked out to my garden and plucked some rosemary, lavender and sage and I went upstairs to my room and pulled something out of my jewelry box. When I went back down, I tied the herbs together and let one end with a match, placing them on my incense holder, then I turned to Infinite.

"According to my therapist, this is best done in a calming and peaceful setting. So I have my radio playing relaxing music while an incense I've made out of rosemary, lavender and sage is burning, the combined scents are known for relaxing one's body and mind when inhaled. And I also have this...", I trialed off as I pulled out what I took from my jewelry box: it was a gold chain with a single pink gem shard attached to the end of it.

"What is that?", asked Infinite. "It's a necklace, it was a welcome home present from my friend Lindsay on the day I was finally released from the mental ward, it's my most prized possession. My therapist said when performing hypnosis, you must have the subject focus all their attention on a single object in order to make them more susceptible to suggestions; for him, it was his pocket watch but for me it's this necklace.

"I'm going to perform the hypnosis and I want you to know this Infinite, even unconscious, this will be a very emotionally stressful experience and once it starts, it won't stop unless I release you from it myself. Knowing that, do you still want to go through with it?", I said. I wanted to make sure he was comfortable and I didn't force him to do anything he didn't want but he still nodded and waited for me to start.

"Okay good. Silver I want you to cover your ears, I don't want to accidentally put you "under my spell" so to speak", I said. Silver quickly covered his ears with his hands as I stood behind Infinite and began the hypnosis.

"Okay Infinite, clear your mind. Remove all outside thoughts and only focus on my voice and the music, nothing exist but me and the music", I then dangled the necklace in front on him and swung it back and forth, "Now keep your eyes on this necklace, look at nothing but this gem, listen to nothing but the music and the sound of my voice. You're starting to feel light, like you're lying on a cloud; your eyelids are getting heavy, my voice is guiding you to a more peaceful plane of existence. Your thoughts are becoming cloudy and dense, as you are only focusing on my voice and the gem before you. When I count to three, you will fall into a deep slumber: 1...2...3!"

Infinite's eyes drooped closed and he was soon fast asleep, breathing softly. I motioned to Silver that it was now okay for him to uncover his ears and I turned back to Infinite, "Alright then, Infinite can you hear me? If you can, please squeeze my hand", I said as I slipped my hand into his. He gave my hand a light squeeze, letting me know that he could in fact hear me.

"Okay good. Now then, I want you to tell me about your past. Go back, before you knew Eggman, before you fought Shadow, before you had a squad, even before you were a mercenary. I want you to tell me in great detail who you were before all those events took place", I said. Infinite was quiet, all except for his soft breaths, before he sighed and began speaking in his hypnotic trance.

Flashback: 17 years ago (Third Person POV)

It was a average day in the town of Bogsford in a desert called the Boiling Borderlands; many different people, both Human and Mobian, were bustling about either on foot or in horse or camel drawn caravans. It was a rather hot day, even in the desert, and many of these people were moving about just to avoid having to stand out for too long under the unforgiving rays of the sun.

The people were so focused on getting where they needed to go that none of them could hear the faint sounds of dog-like whimpering coming from a cluster of trash cans in the alley near a tavern. The whimpering came from a small cardboard box that shook and shuddered with movement until it fell over, revealing Infinite, who at this time was a nameless and abandoned three month old jackal pup, all alone in this harsh desert town.

It was sad really because Mobian jackals reached maturity at the age of 6-8 months and 11 months was when they were trusted to take care of themselves and leave their parents, but at 3 months, Infinite didn't even have the ability to talk let alone the ability to take care of himself. He was currently scavenging through the tavern's trash cans trying to find something to eat, at the very least his sense of smell was working but he wasn't able to find a single morsel.

The little pup, having given up trying to find some food, curled up with his head lying on his fluffy tail and whining pitifully as the howling pain in his stomach grew worse and worse. Just then, the door to the tavern opened and out of it came a tall reptilian Mobian: a six foot one, anthropomorphic female frilled lizard with dark green scales, light green membranes on her frills, red eyes, sharp teeth and claws and a long tail; she was wearing a jet black halter top, khaki shorts and tan sandals on her feet.

The lizard woman walked out of the tavern holding a stack of dollars in her right hand while flicking each bill with her left fingers as she counted it, that was when her invisible ears caught the sound of whining. She looked down and saw the young Infinite lying on the ground, curled up into a ball and whimpering in his hunger pain. Smiling almost wickedly, the lizard woman bent down to his level. "Well well, what do we have here? A lonely little jackal pup sitting amongst the garbage, huh? I'll bet you're hungry, aren't you?", she said.

Using her long tail as a third arm, she reached over and wrapped it around Infinite's waist, lifting him up to her face. "Well, I can give you food provided you do something for me in return. Does that seem fair to you?", she said. Being only a three month old pup, Infinite's only response was to paw at her large papery frills while babbling and cooing like a baby. This actually made the woman smile despite finding it somewhat annoying, "Oh you're so cute and innocent, it's ashame I'm gonna have to break you", she said as she carried the little pup away.

The two made it back to the lizard woman's home, which was an immobile airship sitting on the ground near an oasis about two miles outside of town; when they entered, she turned on her woodfire stove and lit a fire because nighttime was slowly approaching and it always got cold in the desert at night. Infinite let out a happy bark as he ran over to curl up near the warmth of the stove, the woman laughed as she bent down to his level. "Now then, I believe introductions are in order. My name is Leviatha Weedscale, what's yours little fella?", she said.

Infinite's only response was a coo followed by him tilting his head in confusion, "Hmmm, you really are a baby. You can't talk and that's a problem, not to mention you're too small and weak to go up against anyone. So...we'll just have to fix that, I'll just have to make you bigger and stronger and then you'll be bringing me the big bucks, until then...your name will be...Zero. It's the only number that means nothing and right now, you're worth nothing", said Leviatha.

A low grumble was heard as Leviatha realized it was Infinite's stomach growling and he even started whining and pawing at her leg for something to eat. "Hungry, eh? Don't worry I'm gonna feed you, I was gonna eat this roasted duck all by myself but I guess I can share", she said as she walked over where her dinner sat on the table. Using a large knife, she sliced the duck in half, dropping the severed half on the floor where Infinite immediately began tearing away and devouring the roasted bird with the same speed and voraciousness as a school of piranha.

"My goodness, you sure were hungry! Makes me wonder how you'd do on the battlefield. If you're that savage when eating a roasted duck, I'd love to see how you'd do against a living duck", said Leviatha. You see, Leviatha was part of an underground circuit known as "Professional Creature Fighting" where people would capture small animals and even other Mobians, often times very young orphaned ones, and force them to fight in death battles where everyone would bet on the outcome of each fight and the winning creature's owner would rake in the profit.

Of course this process was illegal because, as stated before, young Mobians were being used in these fights which made it seem like they were being kept and traded like slaves but unlike how it was on Earth, on Mobius, slavery was never really implored but it was still illegal on the grounds that it was immoral and unethical. That, however, didn't stop a group of roaming bandits from creating an underground area beneath a desert inn for the purpose of hosting these battles.

Now where does Leviatha fit into all this? She's the champion of PCF because with every creature she's captured and forced to fight, none of them have ever lost a battle. Grant it, they do eventually die in her care but she shrugs it off and goes looking for other creatures to battle.

Her method for forcing creatures to fight for her was one she learned from her twin brother, Rolland, when he first suggested she join PCF because she wasn't making much money being a professional treasure hunter: what she would do is use Conditional Love in order to make her creatures fight.

Leviatha would shower her creatures with love and praise whenever they did something right and when they messed up, she either physically abuse them or mentally abuse them by calling derogatory terms like "weak" or "pathetic" or "useless", and, by ways of classic psychological conditioning, this would make the creatures want to please her and if that meant having to fight in a death battle with something much bigger and stronger than they, then they'd do it.

And it always worked because despite being outmatched by their opponents, Leviatha's creatures would win simply on the basis that it'll make her happy and it did because she was becoming richer and richer when collecting all the losers' bets, which was a lot as these people bet practically everything they owned on these battles.

After Infinite finished his meal, he let out a cute yawn and curled back in front of the stove and fell asleep as the warmth of the fire heated his chilled bones. Leviatha looked at him with a genuinely happy expression, she couldn't explain it but she found herself slowing falling in love with the pup; she wanted to take care of him as if he were her son. "What's wrong with me? Am I going soft? I mean the kid is super cute and lovable but I gotta keep my eyes on the real prize here: he's here to make me money and when he's bigger that's just what he'll do", she said.

~Time Lapse: 5 months later~

Leviatha had spent her time trying to mold Infinite into a real fighter; now that he was eight months old, he had reached physical maturity. As for his mental maturity, he had only just learned how to talk and even then, it was mostly in one word sentences such as when he'd say "Food" when he was hungry or "Freezy" when he was cold.

As for his fighting, he seemed to be pretty savage when practicing on the stuffed animals Leviatha bought; he'd waste no time in tearing them apart and she didn't even have to call him terrible names or hit him to motivate him. And every time Infinite was done with his practice fight, he'd look at Leviatha with a wide smile and say "I win, Mama?"

Leviatha didn't want to admit it but her heart was swelling with love for the little pup and every time she thought about physically or mentally hurting him or putting him in those fights, a part of her would angrily scream at her for thinking such a thing. She was beginning to think that maybe she shouldn't go along with it, that maybe this would be the one time she didn't force a creature to fight for her.

The night came when she decided to enter Infinite in his first creature battle just to see how he'd do. As per usual, Leviatha only bet a tiny amount of her fortune while everyone else bet higher amounts but this time around, she had bet on Infinite to lose so at least she'd still earn some riches even if he got clobbered. Infinite, on the other hand, had no idea what as truly going on and was under the pretense that he was going to play a fun game with another creature.

When Leviatha placed him into the arena, Infinite was greeted by a large and rather feral looking badger that looked as young as he was; he instantly became scared and tried to escape but was halted by the thick barbed-wire fence that surrounded the arena. The starting bell went off and the feral badger immediately attacked, throwing punches and kicks and slashing its claws at Infinite.

One particular swipe of its claws caught him across his right eye, sparing the sensory organ of damage but leaving a long slash across his eyelid, face and muzzle that would eventually heal and become the scar he sported today. Those who had bet on Infinite to win were booing at the sight of the little jackal pup barely putting up a fight and instead either cowering or trying to find a way out.

"Man, that jackal freaking sucks! He's pathetic!"

"I can't believe I bet all my gold on that puny pup!"

"He's so weak and worthless, he might as well kill himself. It'll save him the embarassment!"

"Good thing I bet on the badger, I'm not losing my gems betting on that wimpy, scrawny excuse of a Mobian!"

All around him, little Infinite could hear the scolding disapproval of all the other spectators; he could hear their scorn and their taunting remarks, all of them either calling him "pathetic" or "worthless" or "weak". He saw the badger reeling back to deliver the finishing blow, but before it could, Infinite angrily bared his teeth and clamped his jaw down tightly on its throat.

The badger tried desperately to shake him off but Infinite refused to let go and only hit down harder and harder until his fangs pierced its throat, severing the jugular vein which caused it to bleed to death. The crowd, Leviatha included, were shocked by the outcome before they started cheering; Leviatha gave up her small wager and immediately rushed Infinite home where she tended to his wounds.

As he sat there, Infinite was muttering softly to himself. "What did you say, Zero?", asked Leviatha. He looked up at her with angry tears spilling from his eyes and said, "Not...weak...I...not...weak!" Leviatha gasped before she suddenly fell to her knees and broke down crying herself. This struck Infinite as odd, "Why Mama crying?", he asked innocently.

Leviatha grabbed him and held him in a loving and protective hug, "Oh my Chaos, Zero, I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have put you through that, you got hurt and it's all my fault! I didn't want to do it but I did it anyway, please forgive me!", she sobbed. Infinite smiled and nuzzled into her warm scaly chest, "I not mad at Mama. I forgive Mama", he said. This made Leviatha smile as she wiped away her tears and set Infinite down on the table, "Now, let's get some ointment for that nasty slash on your face", she said.

~Time Lapse: 6 years later~

It was Christmas Eve in the desert town of Bogsford, though not everybody was really big on celebrating it; Leviatha wasn't one of them because this was her absolute favorite holiday and as such, the interior of her airship home was covered with Christmas decorations and the was even a cactus in a pot in one corner of the main deck like a Christmas tree.

"Son, would you turn off that lousy puppet? And go brush your teeth", said Leviatha. She talking to Infinite, who was now about eight years old, and was sitting in front of a small vintage TV, watching a black and white children's show featuring a talking band puppet of a mouse wearing a top hat. "Don't call him a puppet!", he said. Leviatha turned to him, "I'm sorry, you wanna run that by me one more time?", she said.

Infinite turned around and in the light of the wood fire stove, one could see that the slash he earned in his first fight had healed and turned into a scar that was white like his hair. Leviatha had stopped entering him in creature fights after that night and instead opted to raise him as her son, though her constant absence was noticeable to everyone else, including her brother Rolland.

"Look, he's not a puppet! Mr. Winky is a real magical mouse!", said Infinite. Leviatha gave him a smirk before approaching the TV, "Well, Mr. Doo-Hickey will have to say goodnight for now", she said as she shut off the TV, earning an annoyed whimper from Infinite. "And remember, you need to be asleep when he comes down the chimney", said Leviatha as she gestured towards the wood fire stove. She was, of course, referring to when Santa Claus would come later in the night to deliver his presents.

"That's not even a chimney, Mama. How's he supposed to get in?", said Infinite. Leviatha smirked, "Don't you know about Christmas magic? It's what he uses to do everything he does, including entering the homes of good boys and girls that don't have chimneys", she said. This made Infinite excited, "Then can I wait up and watch him do it?!", he asked excitedly. Leviatha shook her head, "No no no. Don't you remember the song? He won't visit you if you're still awake. Now go and get ready for bed, and if you brush your teeth, I'll read you your favorite bedtime story", she said.

Despite his disappointment at not seeing Santa Claus, Infinite still got ready for bed if it meant he'd get to hear his favorite story; after brushing his teeth, Infinite laid in his hammock bed as Leviatha read to him the story of a dragon princess who makes a deal with an evil wizard to become human, but at the cost of her magic healing powers. A brave Human prince then battles and defeats the wizard but almost dies in the process and with the curse broken, the princess uses her powers to save him and they get married at the end and live happily ever after.

After she finished reading the book, Leviatha noticed the tired look on Infinite's face and that his eyelids were having trouble staying open; she then moved to tuck him into bed, "Goodnight Mama...[yawn]...I love you", said Infinite before he promptly fell asleep. Leviatha was taken aback before she leaned down and gave him a kiss on his forehead, "Goodnight Zero", she said.

Leviatha laid in her hammock, lost in thought: Zero had always called her "Mama" but this was the first time he actually said "I love you". Sure she knew he did love her, what with the whole "unconditional love of a child" thing but this was the first time he verbally expressed his love for her. This made Leviatha rethink every choice she ever made in life as well as wonder if she was actually meant to find Infinite, maybe this was the universe or gods or whatever giving her a second chance to lead a better life.

After quitting the PCF, she did take up the job of chef at a local tavern so she could make an honest living and set a good example for her son, even if the winnings she earned at the PCF were enough to last about ten years, but now after hearing her son verbally reciprocate her love, she knew that this was the start of a better life for her and Infinite.

The next morning, Leviatha awoke to see Infinite patiently waiting by their Christmas cactus to open his presents, he was such an obedient child that he dared not touch a single box until his mother got up to see him open them. "Okay, I'm up now Zero, you can open your presents now", said Leviatha. Infinite went to work unwrapping each present that was labeled "From Santa", most of the gifts consisted of standard boys toys like cars and train set, toy robots and plastic dinosaurs but he loved them all the same.

Then Leviatha reaches out from behind the cactus and pulled out a rather long and slender present, "Zero, this last one here is from me. Its something my mom gave to me when I was your age and now, I want you to have it", she said. Infinite unwrapped the gift to see that it was a reddish orange sword with a curved blade, a blue handle and small blue stripes along the hilt. Infinite beamed in happiness before jumping to hug Leviatha, "This is an awesome present! Thank you, Mama", he said. Leviatha smiled as she ruffled his long white hair.

"Yeah, thanks for giving away Mom's prized sword"

Leviatha quickly turned around to see that her twin brother Rolland had walked in through the door, "Well Merry Christmas to you too, brother. To what do I owe this unexpected visit?", she asked. Rolland growled, "First off, keep the "Merry Christmas" to yourself; I don't celebrate that stupid holiday. Second, my guys have told me that you quit working the PCF racket and are working as a cook in the old "Full Moon Tavern". Any reason why?", he said almost sounding annoyed.

Leviatha snarled at him as she picked up Infinite and held him close to her body, "If you must know, it's because of Zero here. I wanted to put him in those fights but after he nearly died on the first one, I realized what I was doing was wrong and I had to stop. I've decided to raise Zero as my own and lead a more honest life, and if you disagree with that Rolland, then you can go suck a cactus and die for all I care. Now, if you've got nothing else to say, then get lost!", she roared at his face.

Rolland, knowing he lost that argument, decided to just quietly leave. "Wow you sure showed him, Mama. You're so brave and strong", said Infinite. Leviatha laughed and looked at him, "Yes I am, and so are you. Son, remember when those people called you "weak" during that fight? Don't you ever let anyone get away with calling you that! You are not weak and anyone who tries to make you think otherwise deserves to be put six feet underground, got it?", she said.

Infinite smiled and nodded, "Good. Now what do you say we have breakfast and watch some Christmas specials on TV?", asked Leviatha. Infinite cheered as they went to make breakfast.

~Time Lapse: 3 months later~

Infinite sat at a table in the Full Moon Tavern, playing with his toys as his mother worked in the kitchen. Leviatha had made it clear to her boss that she didn't have time or knew anyone she could trust to babysit Infinite and unless he wanted her to quit, and lose all his new business thanks to Leviatha superior cooking skills, he'd have to let her bring her son to work.

Her boss agreed so long as he stayed off to the side, kept to himself and didn't bother the customers; Leviatha assured him that thanks to his new toys, Infinite won't be bothering anyone. As for the sword she gave to him, Infinite kept it strapped to his back at all times for safe keeping and as an excuse to make himself look tough.

It was around late noon when Leviatha had to make a quick trip back home because she had forgotten her wallet and she had to go grocery shopping and preferred to do it immediately after her shift ended. She walked over to Infinite's table, "Baby, Mama will be right, I have get something from the house. Stay here and don't go anywhere, okay?", she said. "Okay Mama, I love you", said Infinite. Leviatha smiles and kisses his forehead, "I love you too, Zero", she said before leaving.

Late noon turned into early evening and early evening soon turned into late evening and Infinite was wondering what was taking his mom so long to come back. It wasn't because he was hungry, his mother's boss actually gave him a free lunch and dinner on the pretense that his mom would pay for it but now he was wondering where she was as well. Just then, a frantic armadillo burst in through the swinging doors, "Someone call the fire brigade! There's a huge fire just outside of town", he shouted.

Infinite gasped, he and his mother lived just outside of town; he hurriedly stuffed his toys into his backpack and ran out despite his mother's boss telling him to stay put. When he finally made it to the outside of Bogsford, his worst fears were confirmed: the fire was happening in his immobile airship home, the place where he grew up in was slowly crumbling and turning to ash, but that wasn't the worst of it.

He remembered his mother saying she had to run home to get something...and she never came back! Infinite tried to run into the burning airship but the fire brigade showed up and one of them pulled him away before he could get too close; he kicked, squirmed, screamed and cried but it was clear he wasn't strong enough to break free of the fire fighters grip...he wasn't strong to save his mother...he was too weak.

" ** _MAMA_**! **_MAMA_**!—"

End of Flashback: (Back to Nyx' POV)

" ** _MAMA_**!"

Silver and I were scared half to death when Infinite suddenly snapped out of his hypnotic trance, screaming for his mother. He had spent the last four and a half hours retelling the story of his life to me and...now I understood.

I quickly shook off my shock as I went over to hug him as after he was done screaming, he broke down and started crying hysterically; I held him close and let him cry on my shoulder, not caring that he was soaking my shirt. "I...I...it's not f-f-fair! M-m-m-Mama...I want...her back!", he sobbed. His reaction broke my heart so much that I couldn't help it and I started crying too, he really did remind me of myself the day I lost my parents, and now I truly did have someone who understood exactly how I felt on that day.

"I'm sorry...I'm so sorry that happened to you, Infinite. And I'm sorry I made you relive that pain. I knew you understood me but I didn't realized it hurt you this much, please forgive me", I sobbed. We continued to sit there, hugging and crying, trying to give each some degree of comfort for the combined pain of loss we both repressed for so long.

I looked off to the side and I could see Silver watching us with a look of sadness and regret in his eyes; the sadness was easy to understand, he obviously felt sympathy for the pain we went through but...regret? Was he actual regretting his initial thoughts about Infinite? I mean sure, Silver had every right to be apprehensive around the guy who almost killed us all and destroyed our world but now...

Did he come to the same conclusion I did? That after all this time, behind the mask and the pyschopathic desire to wipe us out in some twisted bit to prove his strength and power, Infinite was really just a scared and confused little boy who just wanted to be treated with love and respect? I could wonder at this time.

Author's Note: Well That ends Chapter 9 and man was this a long one but a certain someone brought it to my attention that I had given Infinite a backstory on how he got his squad together but I never did explain his personal backstory. Well here it is for all of you to see, hope you enjoy it and come back soon for Chapter 10 to see what happens next. Until next time, this is SuperKirbyLand234 signing out!


	11. Chapter 11

**See Prologue for Disclaimer**

Chapter 10: Howls and Emotions (Infinite's POV)

It was late in the afternoon when Nyx and I sat on the couch and drank some herbal tea, the both of us having calmed down from our emotional outburst. Silver had left an hour ago, again promising he wouldn't tell the others about Nyx and I and that if anyone asked how he got that scrape on his forehead, he said he'd tell them he fell down some stairs.

I sat next to Nyx quietly as I drank the rather sweet tea; I've never actually drank tea before but I have to say it was tasty and Nyx's claim about how drinking tea can relax one's body and mind seemed to be true. I felt completely at ease, but my heartache was still very much there.

I still couldn't believe Nyx had me dig up my terrible memories of the day I lost the closest thing to a mother I ever had; it was so painful I felt like I was going to die, and I should've been angry with Nyx for doing that to me. But the problem was...I wasn't angry because I felt like we were even; what do I mean by that?

Nyx told me the tragic story of how she lost her parents and slowly sank into an ocean of misery and self loathing that almost killed her had it not been for her friends, then I came along and killed them, almost causing her to go down the same road again had it not been for her new friends. I had the feeling that she didn't just force me to relive that pain simply out of curiosity about my issues but she wanted some form of revenge.

Like there was a part of her that got its kicks out of watching me suffer. I didn't want to believe that, I wouldn't have believed it...if it wasn't for the fact that she flat out told me the morning after she saved me that there was a part of her wondering why she hadn't strangled me to death.

And I would've brought this up to her but I could sense that she was already feeling guilty for making me dig up those old and painful memories, I didn't want to make her feel even worse.

After about thirty minutes of awkward silence, Nyx finally stood up to look at me. "I...need to be alone for a while. I'll be outside", she said as she went to place her mug in the kitchen sink before heading out the back down that led to her garden. The look of remorse and sorrow in her eyes hurt me; I felt the need to hold her close, to tell her that I wasn't angry and that she had nothing to fear but I feared that would only make things worse so I kept myself from doing so.

I placed my empty mug in the kitchen sink before laying back down on the couch, I picked up the remote to watch the TV but I didn't really find anything interesting to watch apart from a documentary on how erosion happens. I was honestly bored the Hell out of my mind and fell asleep half way through the documentary, not that I really cared as it wasn't too intriguing and I so emotionally drained that I could use a nap.

About an hour and half had gone by after I fell asleep when I was awoken by a strange sound: it was the sound of howling. It was distant as if coming from the forest behind Nyx's house, it sounded sad but also hauntingly beautiful as well; with peaked curiosity, I got up and went out the back door, and that's when I noticed Nyx wasn't in her garden.

I continued to hear more howls, so I made my way through the garden to the entrance to the forest; that's when I noticed something peculiar: there were long thick brown lengths of rope hammered into the middle of several tree trunks, forming a sort of roped off path leading into the forest. I walked along the sectioned path deeper and deeper into the forest and as I did, I also noticed that the roped trees also had signs on them saying "Beware" or "Keep Out" or "Turn Back".

They were all warning signs, telling whoever was in the woods to leave immediately and not come back, but I pressed on until I came upon a wide chasm with an old log as the only way to cross over it; I carefully inched my way across the log before I finally made it to the other side. There was yet another path marked by roped off trees and warning signs, I kept walking and walking, listening to the howls until I finally reached where they were coming from.

There was a small cliff with a waterfall that fed into a river and at the base of the waterfall was a large weeping willow tree, it's branches leaning down to create almost an umbrella-like alcove and the roots at the base of its trunk were long and thick enough to sit on; the grass around the area was dotted with flowers of different colors and types, and across from the river was more forest that eventually stopped at a tall mountain. Needless to say, this was the most beautiful place I had ever seen.

As I stood there admiring the beauty of this place, I heard more howling; I looked around until I finally found the source of the noise: at the top of the weeping willow's canopy sat Nyx, she was looking up to the sky at the full moon and every time she caught a glimpse of it through the treetops, she let out a long melodious howl. It sounded so beautiful and majestic, almost like she was singing into the night.

"That was lovely", I said. I must've taken her by surprise because after she heard me, she let out a startled shriek before falling off the willow and into the river; I immediately rushed over to help her out, it was a good thing the water was only knee deep. "[Cough]...Infinite? What are you doing here? How'd you even get here?", she asked as she sputtered and shook the water from her body.

"I fell asleep and was awoken by the sound of distant howling. I didn't see you outside, so I followed the roped trees and keep out signs until I found you here, and that's when I realized you were the one howling. By the way, your howls were quite enchanting", I said. I almost laughed at the cute smile she had and that her muzzle had suddenly flushed red.

Nyx stood on the riverbank as she finished wringing her hair of any water, "Well thank you. I discovered this little alcove about a week after I moved into my house, I used the ropes on the trees to mark my way back to my house so I wouldn't get lost and the warning signs are to scare away any trespassers that might try to soil the natural beauty of this place.

"During the day, I would come out here to have lunch and go for a run in the field of flowers not too far from here and at night, I'd sit atop the willow tree and howl into the night. There are times when I've gotten replies from other wolves out in the distance, they may live thousands of miles away but if there's one sound you can always hear at night, especially if there's a full moon, it's the sound of wolves howling", she said.

She then took off her boots and sat on one of the large roots of the willow, dipping her feet into the river and sighing in contentment as her toes were submerged in the cool water. I soon took off my own shoes and sat down next to her, placing my feet into the water as well; the cool water soothes the aching joints in my feet and I chuckled at the ticklish feeling of the tiny fish in the river swimming around my toes.

Nyx looked up and saw the moon again in full view through a large hole in the willow's canopy and let out another one of those lovely howls. "Say, do you think you can teach me to do that?", I asked. She stopped and looked at me with a surprised smile, "You wanna learn how to howl?", she said. "Well...yes, howling isn't really a thing that I do even though jackals, Mobian or otherwise have been known to howl, but I've always been curious about the etiquette behind howling, so...I'd love it if you teached me how to howl", I said.

She sat in deep thought before turning to me, "Okay I'll show you but it won't be easy but I'm sure you'll get it. Come with me to the field, it's better if we do this in full view of the moon", she said. We climbed back onto the riverbank, grabbed our shoes and proceeded to walk over to a big open field filled with more flowers, and in this more open area the full moon looked twice as big as it had looked through the canopy.

Nyx and I sat down as she turned to me and began to explain, "Okay Infinite, I'm gonna give you a rundown of howling history that my parents taught me when I was little. As you might not have known, many species of canid Mobians such as dogs, wolves, coyotes and jackals have been known to howl as a form of secondary communication; in ancient times, howling was how we'd speak before we discovered written language and verbal communication.

"Today, howling is mostly used as either a way to relieve stress or a way to talk to other canid Mobians in a way that other Mobians won't be able to understand, kind of like using a secret code or password. There's over 21 different types of howls but I'm just gonna show you the most basic ones I know, watch me and do what I do. First one: this is a Happy Howl", she said.

She then let a short, highpitched and almost cheerful howl; I then mimicked her by letting out my own howl and, aside from being a bit low pitched, it was on point. "Good, now here's a Sad Howl", she said. Nyx let out a low and rather somber sounding howl which I then copied perfectly, she giggled and clapped her hands, "Wow, you're actually getting the hang of rather quickly, I'm impressed. Okay, next is the Angry Howl", she said.

Nyx then growled menacingly before the growl led its way into a loud and thunderous howl, I tried it myself and I almost scared both her and myself with how threatening I sounded but she simply laughed it off. "Alright, there's only two more left I know that I can show. Here's a howl to let someone know you're lost and/or scared...", she trailed off as she let out a highpitched and almost squeaky howl, "...And this is a howl you let out to tell someone you love them", she said as she let out the same soft and melodious howl I heard her doing when I first found her.

I copied both howls, with the fearful one sounding kind of shaky and the love one sounding just as melodious if not a bit deep. I then came to a realization, "Nyx, you were letting the same soft howls one lets out to express love when I found you out here. If that's the case...who were you howling for?", I said. Nyx quickly looked away as her face flushed a bright crimson, she had a nervous look on her face and moved in a way that seemed like she wanted to shrink down and disappear.

I placed my hand on her shoulder and was about to ask what was wrong when she suddenly placed both her hands on either side of my face and pulled me close to her as her lips touched mine. I was taken by surprised when she kissed me but I quickly got over it and kissed her back; it was just as magical as the first time I kissed her, only at that time her mouth tasted like chocolate, now it tasted like strawberries.

Suddenly I heard Nyx growl before she forcefully pushed me onto the ground and deepened the kiss, she even went as far as to nibble on my lower lip; now I was truly taken aback by her behavior, for as long as I've known her, she never acted this...forward before.

I gasped as Nyx ran her tongue along my bottom lip; she used that oppurtunity to slip her tongue inside, sweeping around, tasting every nook as she prodded my tongue into play. Both of our tongues were wrestling for control of the kiss; Nyx, surprisingly, won out, and dominated the kiss. I took a shakey breath as Nyx's lips abruptly tore from my mouth and went to my neck, nibbling and sucking at the base of my throat.

"n-n-n-Nyx...what are you...doing...?", I struggled to say as I breathed heavily. She merely responded with another growl as she reached down and giving my rear a firm spank. To my embarassment, I let out a surprise "eep" noise; I wanted to cover my mouth out of sheer bashfulness but Nyx grabbed both my wrists and held them above my head with one hand as her other hand continued to freely explore my body and legs kept my legs pinned to the ground.

Nyx growled again, returning to nibbling at my neck, spurred on as I began to moan gently, my eyes slowly closed. Nyx's lips found themselves attached to my collarbone, gently suckling; my eyes flew open and a gasp escaped my lips as she bit down upon my collarbone. I was surprised at the indifference I felt to the pain, there was just so much more pleasure drowning it out.

Moaning softly, I lifted my face to hers, seeking out her burning lips; upon finding them, I pressed my own against them in a kiss. Nyx reciprocated hungrily, fire almost dancing in her eyes. I was aware that I was becoming extremely aroused, but I was too involved with Nyx's mouth to pay attention. Then I felt her right hand, the one that wasn't holding my wrists in place, slowly snake its way down to my...private area, for lack of a better term; I quickly regained my senses and realized that, while this felt amazing, I didn't want it to go too far.

So in order to end her onslot, I swatted Nyx in the face with my tail, distracting her long enough for me to sit up. She had a dazed and confused expression on her face as she looked at me, "Ugh, what happened?", she asked. "You we're enjoying having your way with me, though I stopped you from doing anything drastic, you still had your fair share of fun", I said with a playful smirk.

Nyx blushed in embarassment, "Oh my gosh, I'm really sorry Infinite. It's not my fault, you see when there's a full moon out, it makes wolf Mobians act...strange. As a little kid, it made me run away from my house and into the woods, where I'd stop by a cliff and howl at the moon until I tired myself and fell asleep. My parents always found and brought me home in the morning and if not for them explaining, I could've been forgiven for believing it was all a dream.

"As a young adult, and a female no less, it messes with my hormones and my instincts take over, especially if I'm around another Mobian who happens to be a male. I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable", she said.

I gave her a smile as I reached out and held her chin up, "It didn't make me feel uncomfortable, it made me feel good. Really good, but since we decided to take this slowly, I had to stop you before you got too...grabby. However, even though we're not at _that_ point yet, it doesn't mean we can't still kiss one another. After all, you do taste very delicious", I said.

Nyx smiled and giggled before she scooted close to me and gave me a peck on the cheek, "And you taste wild and exotic, just the way I like it", she said. We both shared a laugh before the two of us started yawning, "I think we should head back now, it's getting late and I didn't get to finish my nap earlier", I said.

Before I could stand up, Nyx pulled me back down and held me close. "No, let's not head back. Let's instead stay out here: it's quiet and peaceful, the air is warm, and what better way is there to sleep than beneath a full moon and the stars", she said as she yawned again. I yawned as well as smiled at her and laid down on the grass with her back pressed against my chest and stomach, my arms and tail draped over her body.

I soon felt her soft breathing as she had fallen asleep; I smiled as I gave her a goodnight kiss on the cheek and laid down while I caressed her hair. I snuggled close to her as my heavily eyelids dropped down and I fell asleep; it felt nice to cuddle with Nyx as we both slept and let me tell you, sleeping on grass was so much more comfortab than sleeping hot desert sand.

Author's Note: That's all for Chapter 10, I had a lot of fun writing this one too, but just because things got a bit spicy in this chapter doesn't mean it'll go full on flambé later on if you catch my drift. This story is rated T and I plan to keep it that way, anything else would require me to change the rating to an M and that's not my intention, so sorry to any of you who were expecting/wanting that. Anyway, come back soon for Chapter 11; until next time, this is SuperKirbyLand234 signing out!


	12. Chapter 12

**See Prologue for Disclaimer**

Chapter 11: Playful Teasing and Softer Sides (Third Person POV)

Sonic and the others were gathered in the Resistance Base the next morning to discuss the next step in their Relief Project, they stood and waited patiently until Knuckles finished talking on the phone before he turned to address them. "Alright, that was the construction crew. They said they're just about done with rebuilding but they need some help getting everything in place, transporting supplies and making sure everything is up to code.

"Now then, I have some tasks here for each of us to do to help them out. My guess is this is gonna take almost the whole day but I'm sure we can get it done. Now the first thing is—hey wait a minute", he said. Knuckles looked around the room and noticed that a certain someone wasn't there, "Where's Nyx? Has anybody seen Nyx?", he asked. He was met with shrugs from everyone in the room.

"Vector, have you, Charmy and Espio seen her?"

"Nope, sorry Knuckles. We haven't seen the kid at all", said Vector.

"Rouge?"

"You got me, I haven't see her either", said Rouge.

"Tails?"

"No, sorry", said Tails.

"Sonic, what about you and Amy? Have you seen her?"

"Not since yesterday when she was here at the base and didn't show up for the party cause of a family emergency", said Sonic.

"Ugh, well what about you, Shadow? Have you or Silver seen Nyx anywhere?"

"I haven't seen the Pipsqueak since last week", said Shadow.

"And I dropped by her house this morning but there was no answer, I don't think she was even home", said Silver.

Knuckles then let out a very frustrated groan, "We need her here! We're short on people since all of our other forces are busy in other parts of the country, and even the world, helping out with the Relief Project. We need all the spare hands we can get and knowing how important this is, Nyx is just off somewhere doddling around. Where in the name of Chaos is she?", he said.

What Knuckles didn't know was that Nyx was still in the field near her secret alcove, sleeping peacefully within Infinite's gentle embrace. A slight gust of wind blew over her and caused her to shiver from the cold; Infinite, despite not being awake, sensed her discomfort and wrapped his thick fluffy tail around her body to warm her up. She hummed softly as she nuzzled into his plushy tail and continued to sleep, dreaming peacefully.

 _~Nyx's Dream Sequence~_

 _Nyx laughed as she chased Infinite along a long stretch of beach, her arms reaching out to grab him. "I'm gonna catch you!", she shouted. Infinite laughed heartily, "Well then, you'll have to be a lot faster than that", he called out. Smirking, Nyx put on an extra burst of speed and finally caught up to Infinite, knocking him onto the ground._

 _The two of them laughed; they then played a game of volleyball on the beach with, strangely, a pair of seagulls keeping score. Infinite won the match but was a good sport and didn't rub his victory in Nyx's face, instead when she had lost and made a sour pouty face, he walked up to her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "There, does that make you feel better?", he asked. Nyx smiled and hugged him, "Yes, yes it does", she said._

 _The two of them had a romantic picnic on the beach which consisted of handmade spring rolls, chicken salad, creamy Alfredo pasta, freshly baked cheddar biscuits, fresh squeezed lemonade and chocolate truffles. Each of them occasionally snuck glances at one another and when one would notice, the other would quickly turn away and giggle to themselves._

 _Nyx and Infinite then built sand castles, splashed around in the ocean and collected many seashells of various shapes, sizes and designs. The night came to an end when the two of them laid on beach towels and looked up at the sky as a meteor shower took place, hundreds of stars shooting across the sky._

" _It's so beautiful, I wish I could always experience such great happiness and peace", said Nyx. Infinite sat up and reached behind his back, "Well I think I just might be able to make that wish come true, you just need to answer me one question", he said. Nyx also sat up, "And what question would that be?", she asked. Infinite slowly pulled his hand out from behind his back, revealing that he held a small, black box; when he opened it, inside was a ring with a gold band and a single ruby on it._

 _Nyx was in shock as Infinite held the box up to her, "Nyx Cerulean Snowfall, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife? Will you marry me?", he asked. Nyx wasn't sure how to respond, her face heated up and her heart was pounding so hard she feared it might burst through her chest. Tears of joy rolled down her eyes and she embraced Infinite, hugging him tight but lovingly._

" _Oh Infinite, the answer is—"_

 _~End Of Nyx's Dream Sequence~_

Nyx's peaceful slumber was disturbed when a dragonfly perched itself onto her nose, the ticklish feeling of the insect's long spindle legs caused her to sneeze loudly, effectively scaring it away and waking both herself and Infinite from their sleep. She sat up and rubbed her eyes as Infinite let out a groggy yawn, "Uh, you okay there?", he asked in a tone that suggested he wasn't fully awake yet.

Nyx also let out a yawn, "Um...yeah, I'm okay. I think a bug landed on my nose just now, oh what time is it—"

She gasped as she looked down at her wristwatch and saw that it was a quarter past ten, and that she was supposed to be up and at the Resistance Base at around eight. Now completely wide awake due to her panic, Nyx stood up and hurriedly put her boots back on.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so late! Oh, Knuckles is gonna be so mad at me! I have to go now, Infinite, I'll see you later. Love you", she said as she capped her sentence by giving him a peck on the cheek and then ran off before she could even realize what she just said.

Infinite blinked sleepily, "Oh...okay, see you later", he mumbled as he yawned and curled back up on the soft grass. The warmth of the sun and the peaceful setting caused him to fall back asleep, though this time, he began to dream.

 _~Infinite's Dream Sequence~_

 _Infinite groaned loudly as he opened his eyes, his vision blurry and taking time to adjust to the darkness. "Ah good to see you're awake, Infinite. Now we can get started", said a voice. Infinite tensed up in fear, that voice belonged to none other than the evil Dr. Eggman; he tried to get away but found that he couldn't move neither his arms nor his legs, it was as if they were tied down._

 _Suddenly the lights came on, causing Infinite to cry out as a result of the painful burning sensation in his eyes after being exposed to the bright lights; he looked down to see that he as strapped to an operating table by thick metal cuffs, and Eggman was in another room above him, looking down at him through a glass window._

" _Surprised to see me, old friend?", asked Eggman in a patronizing tone of voice. Knowing he was trapped and at the mercy of this madman, Infinite's heart began racing as his breathing sped up. "W-w-what are you g-g-going to do to me?", he stammered in fear. Eggman let out an evil laugh, "I can see you've been letting your emotions surface, we can't have that now can we? So I thought the best way to make you into the perfect servant...is to remove your heart!", he said._

 _At that moment, Infinite felt the blood drained from his face and his stomach was churning so much that he feared he might throw up on himself. "No! No! No, you can't do that! Please! Please don't do it! I'm begging you!", he screamed as he felt the tears fall from his eyes. Eggman sneered at him, "You see, it's that same emotion that made you so weak in the first place. But once I'm done with you, you'll be as stoic and soulless as a machine. Now hold still, this won't hurt a bit...it'll hurt a whole lot!", he said as he pushed a button._

 _First, a long robot arm with a red marker clasped in its hand came down and drew an X over the part of Infinite's chest where his heart was; then it withdrew and two more robot arms came down, each of them wielding very sharp looking knives. Infinite began struggling to escape, thrusting himself back and forth in an effort to break free but his restraints were too strong._

 _As the knives slowly came further down, Infinite could only close his eyes and wait for the inevitable while Eggman laughed maniacally, but before the knives could make contact with his body, he heard a loud booming crash. Both Eggman and Infinite's attention was directed towards the further most wall where Nyx stood after having blasted a huge hole into it with her Wispon, "Dammit all! It's Nyx Snowfall the Wolf, my mortal enemy!", shouted Eggman._

 _Nyx smirked confidently as she jumped up and blasted the knife wielding robot arms before freeing Infinite from his shackles, "Nyx, you came to save me", said Infinite. Nyx smiled, "Well of course I did, I'd never let anything bad happen to my boyfriend", she said. This took Infinite by surprise but he didn't have time to think as Eggman unleashed an army of robots against the duo, "Crush them! Destroy these meddlesome mutts once and for all!", he ordered the robots._

 _Nyx and Infinite smiled at one another as they fought tooth and claw against the horde of machines, systematically destroying them all. Then Eggman appeared inside of his Death Egg Robot, "There's no way either of you can stand up to this!", he shouted. "That's what you think, Egg breath! C'mon, let's show him what we're made of, Infinite", said Nyx. The two of them then jumped into the air and performed an attack that Infinite was all too familiar with._

" _Double Boost!"_

 _They both spun in the air and shot right through the Death Egg Robot, blowing it as well as Eggman's Base to kingdom come. Nyx held onto Infinite as she safely guided themselves out of danger with her grappling hook, they both landed in a field miles away from the ruined base; Nyx then turned to Infinite and gave him a big hug, "We sure showed him, huh?", she said as she nuzzled her face into Infinite's cheek. He smiled as he hugged her back, "Yeah, we sure did. I can't thank you enough for saving me", he said._

 _Infinite and Nyx then looked at each other in the eyes, slowly becoming lost in one another's gaze; their faces slowly inched their way towards each other as their eyes closed, their lips were mere centimeters away from touching—_

 _~End Of Infinite's Dream Sequence~_

Before his dream could go any further, Infinite was abruptly woken up when an acorn fell from a nearby tree and pelted him on the forehead; he sat up and groaned in frustrated as he saw a squirrel climb down from the tree, retrieve the acorn and climb back up. Seeing as he was now wide awake, Infinite decided to walk back to Nyx's house to shower, have some breakfast and maybe watch some TV; though as he was walking, he couldn't help but think of the dream he just had.

 _Could it possibly mean something,_ he thought.

Meanwhile, Nyx hurriedly ran into the Resisntance Base just in time before Knuckles was about to send everyone out on their assignments; she burst in through the door panting and gasping for air like someone who just ran a marathon. "I'm here! I'm here!", she shouted in between gasps.

Everyone looked at her in concern while Knuckles gave her an impatient glare, "Well well, how nice of you to finally join us, Nyx. About a whole two hours later than you were supposed to be, so before I send you and everyone else on your assignments, would you care to tell me what was so important that you couldn't be bother to be here on time?", he said.

Nyx tensed up as she quickly realized that she couldn't tell him or the others the truth of why she was late, she couldn't tell them it was because she shared a romantic evening with the guy who tried to kill all of them and that she overslept because she was wrapped in his warm embrace and didn't want to get up. Panicking internally, Nyx just blurred out the first thing that came to her mind.

"I WAS ON A DATE LAST NIGHT!"

The room suddenly fell silent as everyone took in what she just said, even Knuckles was pretty shocked. "Wait...what did you say?", he asked to make sure he heard it correctly. Nyx gulped heavily before she spoke, "Y-y-yeah, the reason I'm late is b-b-because I was on a d-d-date last night and my date and I fell asleep together and I-I-I overslept", she said.

She felt like she was having a heart attack, like she would pass out at any given moment, she was just incredibly nervous and despite anticipating the verbal reprimand Knuckles was about to give her, she still wasn't looking forward to it. "Nyx, why didn't you say so sooner? I would've gladly given you the day off if it was for something as personal as this", said Knuckles in a rather understanding tone. It was too overwhelming for Nyx and...she dropped to the floor unconscious.

When she finally woke back up, Nyx found herself in the base infirmary where the others were there to greet her. "Whoa what in the world just happened?", she asked out loud. "You passed out after telling us you went out on a date with a guy last night and that's why you were late this morning", said Sonic.

Speaking of which, he then stepped forward and gave Nyx a friendly clap on the back, "And by the way, I'm real happy for ya. I'm glad to see that even after how stressed you've been lately with the Rebuilding Project and trying to get over what happened during the war, you still managed to find some joy in the world", he said.

Nyx blushes as she smiled sheepishly, "Sorry about taking a spill earlier, I was just so nervous and jittery—"

"Hey no worries, if you told me earlier, I would've lightened up about you being late. So who's this guy you started dating", Knuckles said as he had cut her off.

Just then Amy moved uncomfortably close to her, "Yeah, I wanna know everything! Is he handsome? Is he nice? Does he take you on long romantic walks on the beach? What do you like about him? Is he—"

Nyx cut Amy off by placing a hand over her mouth, "Amy, calm down. It was only one date, and all we did was sit out in a field under the full moon and just talked for a few hours. But...we did fall asleep while cuddling with each other", she said as her blush grew darker. Amy let out a happy squee, "Oh my gosh, that's so adorable! You have to at least tell me what his name is and what you like most about him", said Amy.

Nyx smiled as her eyes had a dreamy look to them, "His name is...Zero. And he's sweet, he's smart and he's really nice to me, and that's just on a personality level. As for his looks, he's lean and strong, he's got this confident yet gentle smile, he's got long silky white hair and these beautiful blue and yellow eyes...", Nyx trailed off as her face began to heat up and her heart started thumping loudly in her chest.

Rouge gave her a knowing smirk, "Hmm, it's seems to me like you've been around him way more than just one date. The way you talk about suggests that this Zero guy really makes you feel great inside, tell...have you two kissed yet or "gotten it on"?", she said. Nyx let out a chuckle as she turned to her, "Rouge, that's just silly. Of course I don't..."

Nyx once again trailed off as an image suddenly came to her mind: it was of Infinite lying on her bed, wearing what can only be described as the tightest looking speedo in the world; he was looking back at her with half-lidded eyes and was beckoning her to join him.

" _Oh Nyx, I'm having trouble taking this speedo off. Mind giving me a hand, beautiful?", he said in a seductive voice._

Nyx suddenly let out a strangled gasp as blood started leaking out of her nostrils, her having turned even redder which made her fur take on a magenta hue. Everyone was shocked by this before Shadow pulled a napkin out from the cuff of his glove and handed it to Nyx, who immediately pressed it to her nose, "Rouge, I think you might've overwhelmed her with your question", he said. Rouge sighed, "Sorry. I was just curious is all, you're a nice girl, not to mention you're pretty and a hero of the Resistance. Chances are, you'd find someone who'd want to date you", she said.

Knuckles let out a laugh as he stepped forward, "Okay guys, that's enough. Let's save the dating talk for the chick flicks and get back to business: so Nyx, now that you're here, I need you to make another routine check at the refugee camps. We're gonna start placing them soon and I want to make sure that if there's any sick people, they're either treated or quarantined. On top of the approaching Winter, we don't need any viral outbreaks to make this any harder than it already is", he said.

Recovering from her tiny aneurism, Nyx stood up. "Sure Knuckles, I'll get right on that. It's a good I managed to grab my first-aid kit during the rush to get over here", she said. "Good, And Shadow and Silver will be going with you again to help you out with whatever you need", said Knuckles. Nyx nodded before she slowly stood up as to not make herself dizzy and followed the two aforementioned hedgehogs out the door to the truck again.

When they got to their first stop, which was in Westopolis, just before they got to work, Silver pulled Nyx to the side to talk with her. "Nyx, back in the base, were you faking that reaction or were you being serious?", he asked. Nyx nervously rubbed her arm, "Y-y-yes, Silver. I was actually being serious, also you can't actually fake having an aneruism, that's not even medically possible", she said.

Silver took a deep breath and let out a long sigh, "Does that mean everything you said about Infinite was true? Do you really feel that way about him? If so, as much as I don't like it, I'll respect your decision; if you trust him enough to harbor such feeling for him, then I won't say you shouldn't. After all I'm your friend, not your father", he said. Nyx smiled and gave him a hug, "Thank you Silver and thanks again for not telling the others my secret. Also, I'm surprised that you would bring up me liking someone, considering who you have the hots for", she said.

Silver blushed furiously, "What do you mean? I have no idea what you're talking about in the slightest", he said steadfastly. Nyx smirked, "Don't look now, Silver, but Shadow is totally checking you out", she said. Sure enough, out of the corner of his eye, Silver could see Shadow giving him a rather seductive smile before quickly turning away to give another refugee some food and water.

"I think he likes you", said Nyx in a teasing manner. This made Silver's face turn red, "Oh s-s-shut up!", he stammered. This only made Nyx giggle and poke him teasingly in the sides with her fingers, "You should go for it, you know. You two would make a really cute couple and maybe it'd help Shadow lighten up a bit", she said. Before Silver could retort, one of the guards came running towards them, "Dr. Snowfall, we need your help! We've got a serious situation over by the northern wall", he said.

Nyx hurriedly followed after him to the northern wall and saw what he was talking about: a pregnant female hedgehog with mahogany fur and a single sprout of black hair on her head was screaming in pain, the white nightgown she was wearing was stained with blood towards the bottom end. "Oh my Chaos, she's going into labor! There's no time to transport her to the hospital, I have to deliver her baby now or they'll both die!", shouted Nyx as she rolled up the sleeves of her hoodie and replaced the blue fingerless gloves she usually wore with a pair of surgical gloves she pulled out of her first-aid kit.

"Nyx, I went and got Shadow. Is there any way we can help?", asked Silver. Nyx quickly turned towards them, "Yes there is: Silver, I need you to get me some hot water and a blanket, I don't care how you do it, just get them. Shadow, this woman doesn't appear to have a husband or any other friends or family, so I need you to stay by her side and help her stay calm. I have to make sure this baby comes out in one piece", said Nyx.

The two soon got to work, with Silver running off to get the supplies and Shadow rushing over to the woman's side to hold her hand and steady her nerves, "Hey listen to me, it's gonna be okay. We're going to help you", he said. The hedgehog woman looked up at Shadow with tears spilling from her terror filled eyes, "I beg of you, no matter what happens, please...please save my baby", she pleaded. Shadow sighed as he gently brushed her hair out of her face, "I promise you, ma'am, I'll make sure your baby is safe", he said.

Silver soon came back holding a dark green blanket in his arms while levitating a barrel of warm water above his head with his psychokinesis; he set the barrel down behind Nyx as he crouched down next to her, "I've got the blanket and water, Nyx. Now what should I do?", he asked. Nyx grunted, "You can sit there and wait for me to tell you when to have that blanket ready because I can see its head! It's coming out! Shadow, you need to tell her to push on my count!", she said.

Shadow nodded as he hel the woman's hand tighter, "Okay listen carefully: when my friend gives me the signal, you need to push with everything you've got! I know it hurts but if you don't, the baby won't make it! Do you understand me?", he said. Despite her pain and fear, the woman still managed to nod in response; Shadow nodded back towards Nyx as she told Silver to have the blanket open and ready, "Okay Shadow, here it comes! 1, 2, 3—"

"PUSH!"

The hedgehog woman screamed to high heaven as she heaved and pushed with all her might, she kept going pushing and screaming until finally...

"Waaaaaahhhhhhh!"

"It's a girl!", shouted Nyx as she held up the baby hedgehog kit for the woman to see. Using the medical scissors in her first-aid kit, Nyx severed and tied the umbilical cord and then walked over to the barrel of water where she proceeded to wash the blood and amniotic fluid off of the crying infant; Silver walked over to her and helped her wrap the blanket around the baby hedgehog.

Nyx walked over to Shadow who took the baby and held her closer to her mother for her to see what she looked like: she had mahogany fur like her mother but the small sprout of hair on her head was blonde instead of black and when the kit opened her eyes momentarily during her crying fit, they were bright blue instead of dark green like her mother's eyes. "Your baby is absolutely beautiful, ma'am", said Shadow in a soft tone of voice. The hedgehog woman smiled tiredly, "S-s-she...is...she has her father's hair and eyes...thank you for saving...m-m-my baby. P-p-please...take care...of...h-h-her..."

The woman's eyes slowly closed and she fell back onto the sleeping bag she was lying on, she was no longer moving or breathing. "Ma'am? Ma'am?! Nyx! Something's wrong, she's not moving or breathing!", shouted Shadow. Nyx immediately discarded her dirty surgical gloves and rushed over to the woman's side where she began performing chest compressions, "I'm not losing another one! Not this time! Ma'am, please wake up! You can't die, not now!", she shouted as she continued performing CPR.

Nyx kept this up for about thirty five minutes, but just as she was about to try again for about the twenty-third time, a white gloves hand grabbed her by the wrist and stopped her. Nyx looked up in anger as she saw it was Silver who had stopped her, he was looking back at her with tears in his eyes. "Nyx, please stop. It's too late, you did all you could but she...she's gone", he said quietly.

Nyx's angry expression melted away to one of utter despair as she throw herself into his arms, crying hysterically. "NOOO! It's not f-f-fair, Silver! It's not f-f-fair!", she sobbed. Silver held her tightly as he pulled her away so two of the guards could carry the woman away on a stretcher; Silver crouched down and hugged Nyx as he too began to cry, "I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry. I'm sorry you couldn't save her, you tried but...it was no use. She gave up her life to save her baby's...I'm sorry you couldn't save them both", he sobbed.

Shadow stood off to the side and watched as his friend and his crush held each other and sobbed openly, despite his tough and rather uncaring outer appearance, inside his heart was breaking at the sight. A soft coo stole his attention away from Nyx and Silver as he looked down to see the female hedgehog kit in his arms looking up at him with innocent curiosity.

He gave the baby a gentle smile, "It's alright, little one. I promised your mother that no matter what happened I'd make sure you were safe, and I'm sure she knew her time was up when asked me to help save you. I never go back on a promise and so, I intend to protect you with my life and I shall care for you as if you were my own. This I promise you!", he said to the baby who tried to reach up and touch his face with her tiny hands.

Nyx and Silver had overheard Shadow's little speech as they finally calmed down and approached him, "Shadow, are you sure you can handle raising a baby?", asked Nyx. He looked at her with fierce determination, "Nyx, fifty years ago, I failed to protect an innocent young girl from danger. Now fate has given me another and I _do not_ intend to make the same mistake twice in the same lifetime. I will raise her and I will protect her from danger, this I swear!", he said.

Then Silver surprised the both of them when he slowly approached Shadow, gave him a passionate kiss on the lips and hugged him and the baby tightly but lovingly. "That was the single most heroic thing I've ever heard you say. And you shouldn't have to take on this responsibility alone, I'll help you in any way I can", he said. Shadow smiled as he held him and gave him another kiss; Nyx stood off to the side and smiled at the beautiful scene before her.

She then walked up to the duo, "Well, I'm not a mother but I am a doctor and I have quite a fair deal of experience in treating children, especially babies; that's kind of why I didn't pick a specific field of medicine and just became a general doctor, so I could help everyone with everything. So if you have any medical questions, feel free to ask me. Oh and by the way, now that she's yours, Shadow, what are you going to name her?", said Nyx.

Shadow looked down at the baby hedgehog who was now fast asleep in his arms, he reached over and gently brushed her blonde hair out of her face and smiled warmly at her. "Maria...her name will be Maria, Maria the Hedgehog", he said.

Author's Note: Well that ends Chapter 11 and wow was this one an emotional roller coaster; staring off with some lighthearted comedy and then ending off with a tearjerker but hey that was my intention for this chapter and I hope you all liked it, I also hoped the ending didn't make you guys cry too much. And I hoped you also liked my characterization of Shadow in this chapter, I know he's supposed to be the tough and emo edgelord but I like it better when he's that way but has a softer side and shows he truly cares for others. Anyway, see you guys in Chapter 12; until then, this is SuperKirbyLand234 signing out!


	13. Chapter 13

**See Prologue for Disclaimer**

Chapter 12: Understanding the Truth (Third Person POV)

Shadow, Silver and Nyx drove back to the base after we finished our routine checks in the refugee camps; aside from the occasional kid with the sniffles, there weren't many sick people in the camps and that meant that they, thankfully, didn't have to worry about a viral outbreak in the near future. Shadow drove the truck as Nyx sat in the back seat with Silver as it was the safest place for her to sit in the truck with a baby in her arms.

Yep, Shadow was now the father of a little orphan hedgehog kit that was currently sleeping while wrapped in a blanket and nestled in Nyx's arms; of course there were going to be some complications with this decision, for one thing, Shadow would have to see if the child had any next of kin because if she did, that meant he couldn't take her.

And even if it turned out she really did have no family, it was going to be difficult raising a baby especially in such a hard time for all of them after the war ended, but Shadow has friends and most importantly, he's has Silver, so Nyx wasn't not too worried about him being able to pull this off.

The truck finally stopped outside the base as we got off and went inside; Nyx gave the baby to Shadow and made her way to the briefing room where she saw Knuckles and Rouge inside talking to each other, and you know, Nyx was beginning to think that she was not the only one with romantic feelings towards a guy. First Silver opens up about it and now seeing Knuckles blush slightly and smile as he talked to Rouge, it makes her think that everyone has someone they can love.

Nyx knocked her hand against the wall to get their attention, "Oh hey Nyx, how did it go?", asked Knuckles. Nyx twiddled her fingers nervously, "Actually Knuckles, I have a favor to ask of you: do you think I can look into the Resistance database to find someone?", I said. He looked at me in confusion, "Why do you need to do that?", he asked.

Nyx knew this couldn't be put off, so she stepped out into the hallway and gestured for Shadow and Silver to enter the briefing room, when Knuckles and Rouge saw the baby, they both gasped. "W-w-w-where did you get that baby?", he asked in disbelief. "You see, at one of the refugee camps in Westopolis, a pregnant hedgehog woman went into labor and I had to make an emergency delivery, but the mother died in childbirth and I was wondering if there was anyone in the database that resembles the baby in any way. The only reason I'm asking is because...Shadow wants to adopt her", Nyx said.

Knuckles once again stood there in disbelief while Rouge stood near the baby, who was now awake, and laughing as she gripped onto her finger. Then Knuckles let out a sigh, "Well okay, I'm still lost here, but I'll allow you to access the Resistence database. I'm still not sure what looking for someone who looks the baby is gonna do though", he said. Nyx thanked him before stepping towards the computer and pulling up the files of each member of the Resistance, "It's to see if she has any next of kin, Knuckles. Because if she does, it means Shadow can't keep her", Nyx said.

After searching through the list of soldiers and then searching for "male hedgehogs", she was finally presented with a list of all the male hedgehogs in the Resistance, it's a good thing each file has a picture to go with it so she'd know who I'm looking for; Nyx skipped over Sonic, Shadow and Silver, of course, and started searching for any male hedgehogs who had the same characteristics as the baby.

Her hair was blonde and her eyes were bright blue, two things her mother said her father had before he died, so Nyx narrowed her search down to blonde-haired and blue-eyed hedgehogs until she came across one file in particular: his name was Nathaniel the Hedgehog, and he was a private for the Resistance; the file said he had died in the confusion during Operation: Big Wave, their failed frontal assault on Metropolis, and according to the file, other than his wife, he had no immediate family.

Nyx let out a sigh as she turned towards Shadow, "Well as it turns out, her dad was one of our soldiers, but he died when Operation: Big Wave backfired on us. And he had no other family listed apart from his wife, so now she really is an orphan, which means you're within your right to adopt her, Shadow", Nyx said. He looked down at the giggling baby hedgehog as she continued to yank on Rouge's outstretched finger, "Huh, never thought I'd see the day Mr. Grumpy shows off his softer side. So what's the little tike's name anyway?", she said.

"It's Maria, I named her Maria", said Shadow. Upon hearing that, Nyx saw Rouge let out a small gasp before her face changed to an almost sad expression, then she watched her brush it off as she continued to play with the baby. Nyx could only assume she understood why Shadow chose that name; when she first joined the Resistance, Sonic told Nyx stories about all the adventures he and his friends had in the past.

He mentioned that Shadow was created on a orbiting space station called Space Colony Ark and how he was friends with a human girl named Maria, who had to live there because she had a contagious disease and Shadow was made to help find a cure but she was tragically killed when agents of G.U.N. invaded and tried to shut down the experiments.

Nyx had felt bad for Shadow when she learned of his past, he lost his best friend but she guessed that, unlike her, he was strong willed enough to push past that tragic incident and become the hedgehog we all knew now. Still, it's sad that he never got to bring Maria to the planet so she could see how great it really is, and my guess is he named the baby after her to honor her memory; he did say he failed to protect one young girl but now he has another whom he'll always keep safe and this time, she will grow up here on our planet and experience all it has to offer.

Anyway, Nyx turned towards Knuckles to ask if it was okay for her to go home or if there were any other tasks he assigned her for when suddenly—

"AAAAACHOOO!"

Everyone was surprised by the loud sneeze she just let out and Knuckles looked at her in concern, "Nyx...you'd didn't manage to get sick while at the refugee camps did you?", he asked. "There were an awful lot of sick kids at those camps as well", said Silver. "Yeah but they mostly just had the flu or the common cold, nothing really epidemic-worthy or anything too serious", said Shadow.

Nyx gave them all an indignant look, "Oh guys, come on. It was just one sneeze, people sneeze all the time and that doesn't always mean they're sick. If anything, there's probably some dust in the air and I am allergic to—"

Nyx was abruptly cut off when she suddenly went into a coughing fit, she kept both her hands over her mouth to keep any germs from spreading to the others, especially little Maria, who she knew wouldn't have the strength to fight off any illness; when she stopped, Nyx felt dizzy and woozy, and the room looked like it was spinning like she was on a Tilt-a-Whirl ride. Rouge walked up to her, pulled her glove off and placed her hand on her forehead.

"Oh hun, it looks like you've got a pretty high fever, you're burning up", she said. "Well I guess you won't be going on anymore assignments until you get better", said Knuckles. _Great, just great! There was still so much that needed to be done, people who need help and I just had to get sick with the flu_ , Nyx thought. "Come on, Knuckles, this is nothing! I have LITERALLY been through a lot worse than this, I can still do my job", she said before sniffing back her now runny nose.

Knuckles placed his hand on her shoulder and gave her a sympathetic look, "I know you want to help people and I do know you've been through much worse than getting sick but you're not exactly a big help to anyone if you're sneezing, coughing and can't keep your eyes open for more than two minutes. I want you to go home and rest, and come back _**only**_ when you've fully recovered. We can always find another doctor to help us out until you're better, and pushing yourself to work through this illness will only make you more sick", he said.

Nyx covered her mouth again as she went into another fit of hacking coughs before removing them to reveal that her face was now flushed pink due to her fever, she nodded before turning around and heading out the door. "Um...you sure you don't want one of us to take you home? Odds are, you don't have the strength to get there yourself", said Rouge. Nyx shrugged, "It's okay, I can manage. And besides, I don't want to get any of you sick too", she said.

"Actually, I'm incapable of contracting any form of disease due to my longevity, but I agree that you should at least stay far away from everyone else", said Shadow. Nyx nodded as she slowly left the base, she would've swung home on her grappling hook but she didn't have the strength, so instead she hailed a taxi and rode it home.

When it came up to her house, she paid the driver and went inside where she spotted Infinite in the kitchen, "Oh Nyx, good that you're home. I was trying this recipe for brownies I saw on TV and I was waiting for you to get back so you could try it and tell me what you think", he said as he held up one of the square shaped pastries.

Infinite stopped in his tracks when he saw that Nyx's face was bright pink and sweaty, her eyes were half-lidded and her nose was runny which kept prompting her to sniff. "Nyx, are...are you sick?", he asked. Nyx walked over to the couch and pulled her boots off before lying down and curling up into a ball, "Infinite...I don't feel so well...I was t-t-treating some s-s-sick kids at the refugee c-c-camps and I think I caught their f-f-flu", she stuttered due to feeling cold despite her burning fever.

Infinite looked at her with a sorrowful expression, "Oh you poor thing, here let me take you upstairs to your room. You'll lie in bed and rest while I make you some soup and get you some cold/flu medicine", he said. He picked Nyx up bridle-style and carried her up to her room; he laid her down on the bed and pulled the covers over her, he looked to see that she had passed out while he was carrying her, and now she laid there breathing through her mouth as her nose was either too runny or too clogged up.

Infinite walked back downstairs and looked around to see if there was any canned chicken soup left but unfortunately there wasn't, he then went upstairs to Nyx's homemade infirmary to grab a bottle of cold/flu medicine but there wasn't any bottles of that either; this made Infinite panic as he then realized that if he was going to give Nyx both soup and medicine, he'd have to go out and get it and that meant potentially exposing himself and being thrown into a jail cell or killed while she laid sick in bed wondering what was happening.

But then, even to his surprise, he swallowed his fear and decided he was going to take that risk if it meant getting Nyx what she needed to get better. He went upstairs to her room and took out twenty dollars from her wallet, he assumed at least three cans of soup and a bottle of medicine wouldn't cost more than that; he went over to Nyx's bedside and crouched to her level, "Nyx, I have to go out and buy some soup and medicine. I promise I'll be back as soon as possible and I won't drawn any attention to myself", he said.

Nyx didn't open her eyes but instead mumbled in her sleep, "Yeah sure, okay Dad...Mom's downstairs...so I'll let her know if I need anything", she croaked followed by a cough. That sentence broke Infinite's heart and almost made him cry, it hurt him that much to hear those words come out of Nyx's mouth. _The poor girl is so delirious from the fever she thinks I'm her father_ , he thought in sorrow. Infinite kissed his fingertips and then pressed them onto Nyx's forehead, because he knew he'd also get sick if he actually kissed her, and got up to leave and go get what he needed.

It took about twenty five minutes for Infinite to get into town by walking but once he was there, he tried his best to seem like an average citizen and not drawn any attention to himself. So far he was doing a good job as it seemed like no one had even acknowledged his presence and he was able to enter the supermarket with no trouble. He walked over to the canned foods aisle and grabbed about three large cans of chicken soup, placing them into his basket.

For Infinite, it felt weird just walking through a grocery store and just picking out the food you need in order to buy it; back when he was living in the desert, he and his squad had to hunt for any wild desert animals when they got hungry, and when he was aligned with Eggman, the mad scientist would provide all his meals for him. In fact, those brownies he made for Nyx to try was the first time he actually cooked something that wasn't just roasted over a campfire he had to build.

On his way to the medicine aisle, Infinite bumped into someone and his heart immediately dropped into his stomach when he saw who it was: it was Shadow pushing a shopping cart while Silver stood in front of him holding a list and baby Maria was strapped into the infant seat at the top of the cart. Infinite felt his heart rate skyrocket, even if no one else had recognized him because he wasn't wearing his mask, he knew well enough that Shadow would recognize him because he had seen what he looked like without his mask when they first fought.

Now he was at the feet of the hedgehog who massacred his squad and humiliated him, Infinite could only shake in fear as the black and red hedgehog approached him; Shadow stretched his hand towards him which caused Infinite to cower and cover his head with his arms. That's when he heard Shadow let out a small laugh, "Hey buddy, I know I look pretty intimidating but I'm not gonna hurt you. You okay?", he said as it turned out he held out his hand to help Infinite back on his feet.

Infinite grabbed onto the outstretched hand and stood up, "Y-y-yes I'm fine, thank you. Say, you wouldn't happen to know where I can find the medicine aisle in here would you?", he said. That's when Silver walked over, "Sure: the medicine is in Aisle 10, it's right next to the aisle that has dishwashing soap and laundry detergent. Now then, come on Shadow, we still need to get the baby powder and oil", he said.

Shadow then pushed the cart down the aisle with Silver following him, but not before he turned around and gave Infinite a smile and a wink. Since Silver knew Nyx was sick, he actually was pretty proud of Infinite for coming outside to get her some medicine despite knowing the danger of someone recognizing him and getting caught; he was beginning to see that maybe Nyx was right in trusting Infinite, so far he hadn't done anything to warrant any distrust in himself.

Nevertheless, Infinite walked over to the medicine aisle and, to his luck, there was one last large bottle of cold/flu medicine left on the shelf but when he reached out to grab it, another hand grabbed onto it as well. He looked to see that the hand belonged to an elderly looking female fennec fox, "Look ma'am, I'm sorry but my friend is sick and I really need this medicine so...can you please just let me have it?", he said. The old fox gave him a thoughtful expression before she smiled and let go of the bottle, "Why of course, young one. Take it and make sure your friend is well", she said.

Feeling grateful, Infinite went over to the self-check out and paid for the medicine and soup, but on his way out he ran into the old fennec fox again. "Oh I'm sorry, can I help you?", he asked. The woman smiled, "No, but maybe I can help you. Please follow me", she said as she walked away. Part of Infinite's mind was telling him not to trust this old woman and to immediately leave and head to Nyx's house but another part of him was curious as to why this old fox seemed so keen on him, so he followed her.

They came upon a large wagon in the middle of a park with a sign next to it that read: Vadoma the Medium, Psychic Readings and Knick-Knacks. They both stepped inside to see that the wagon was a lot more roomy than it looked from the outside; the old woman sat at a table and poured some tea into two cups, "Can I offer you a cup of soothing chamomile tea?", she asked. Infinite nodded as he sat down, "So...what's this all about, Ms. Vadoma? I know you have to have a reason for taking an interest in me other than just telling my fortune or selling me trinkets", he said.

Vadoma stirred some honey into her teacup, "Firstly, I am not like those who say they can predict the future and just tell people what they want to hear; I cannot see into the future, rather I see into a person's heart and soul to know what they've been through and I try my best to help them. Secondly, I've had my eyes on you for quite sometime...Zero or is it Infinite now?", she said. Infinite's eyes widened as he began to have a panic attack, but Vadoma gently placed a hand over his.

"Calm down, you have nothing to fear. I promise you I will not tell anyone who you are or where you are hiding out now. I know what the Resistence will do to you if they find you and I must say, imprisonment and/or death are far too harsh a punishment for a child", she said. Now Infinite was confused and frankly insulted, "Child? I'm not a child, I'm twenty years old", he said. Vadoma laughed, "It's funny you say that, considering you allowed yourself to lose control of your anger simply by being called "weak" and decided to make everyone hurt like you were hurting. If that's not the response of a schoolyard bully, I don't know what is", she said.

Infinite blushed in embarassment as he realized that maybe he did act like a petulant child but that doesn't obsolve the evil acts he committed. "Let me see your hands, take off those gloves", said Vadoma. Infinite did as he was told and she first grabbed his left hand and gently ran her index claw over his palm, "Oh dear, you've been through so much pain in your life: being abandoned by your parents, being ridiculed for being weak and defenseless, losing your adopted mother, losing your squad, being used as a guinea pig in an evil experiment and then being left for dead by the mad scientist who used you. So much pain, sorrow and anger", she said softly.

She then traced her claw over his right palm, "But even through all that, you still have love in your heart. Love for the lizard woman who raised you as her own, for the jackals you proudly called your comrades, and for the young wolf woman who saw good in you and gave you a chance to redeem yourself. In fact, most of the love in your heart is for this wolf girl, am I right?", she said.

Infinite pulled back his hands and put his gloves back on, there was a faraway look in his eyes. "It's true: I do love her, I've never felt this way about anyone like I do for her, but..."

"But you're afraid that you'll be caught and taken away from her, you're afraid to lose the first bit of true happiness you've had in years", said Vadoma.

Infinite was taken by surprise but before he could argue that relapsing was what he was afraid, Vadoma set he straight. "No Infinite, you are not afraid of relapsing back to your evil tendencies because even you know that you were never evil to begin with and during the war you still were never truly evil. Do you know what I saw while everyone looked at you and saw a monster? I saw a scared, confused and angry boy who was hurting so badly that he felt the only way to make himself feel better was to make everyone else feel worse.

"As I said before, those are the actions and behaviors of a schoolyard bully: a child who wants to feel loved and accepted but never did so he believes if he finds someone lower than he and make them feel worse than he does, it'll somehow make up for his misfortune. But just like schoolyard bullies, you failed to understand that causing others pain is not how you address the pain you're going through.

"You've been hurt many times in your life, more times than one feels is fair, but the way to deal with said pain isn't inflicting an even worse onto someone else, it's talking about the pain you're going through with someone you know will help you. So tell me: what troubles you? Let all your heartache out for me to hear", she said.

Vadoma's words struck a very sensitive cord within Infinite, he knew that everything she had said was true and he realized that his entire life all he was doing was running away from the pain, but now it was time to stop running and confront it. He reached within his mind and soon it was flooded by all the memories of all the terrible things that happened to him throughout his life.

The pain became too much, he bent down onto the table as he sobbed openly and bawled his eyes out. "I was abandoned as a pup and then I find someone to care for me, someone I could my mother and she's killed when someone set out home on fire. I never knew who it was but I was alone again, I spent the next few years after that learning to survive on my own; I had run-ins with thugs and bandits who'd all call me weak but I put them in their place because my mother said I should never let anyone call me weak and live to tell about it.

"I become a mercenary and form my squad, they were the best friends I could ever have hoped for but when we tried to capture Eggman for profit, I agree to let me and my squad to guard his base in Mystic Jungle. Then Shadow comes along, my squad tries to stop him and they're all eliminated in seconds; I try to fight him off, to avenge them but he's too strong for me! He calls me weak, I'm shaking in fear, I hate myself for being the thing I'd never let people get away with calling me: weak! I hated being weak, I hated the fact that I couldn't stand up to him, how he made me look like a fool!

"I wanted revenge and Eggman said he'd give it to me, he fused the Phantom Ruby into me and I was bestowed its incredible power; I donned that mask as a way to hide my shame and using the Phantom Ruby's power, I destroyed cities and hurt people. During the whole thing, I wanted to stop, I wanted people to hurt like me but after seeing the suffering and destruction I caused, I wanted to stop but I couldn't.

"The Phantom Ruby somehow warped my mind, it made me think that those thoughts were what made me weak and it snuffed them out. I became a prisoner within my own mind and I thought I'd never be freed but then came the moment I met Nyx, it was after I obliterated her friends and scared her away; I looked into her eyes and I saw the same fear and sadness I had experinced, at first I thought it was because I killed her friends but after meeting her, I now know her pain went much deeper than that.

"I never expected to see her again until we faced off against each other in Metropolis, she was different that time; she seemed braver, less intimidated by me, she wasn't afraid to get hurt if it meant stopping me. It was after our final confrontation, when I was defeated by her and Sonic, I was hurt and weakened; I headed back to Eggman's fortress and he was angered by my failure to defeat them so he ripped the Phantom Ruby out of my chest and used it for his Death Egg Robot, he then told his robots to dispose of me but I used what little strength I had left to escape and hide.

"I was safe but I was also slowly dying but at that point I didn't care, I wanted to die. I felt like I had suffered enough and I hurt so many people and did so many awful things that there was no point in continuing meager existence; I realized that I was wrong: I am weak, I am pathetic, I am worthless and the world is better off if I was no longer around. So I laid there to die but then Nyx found me; at first I thought she would gloat about her victory or just finish me off herself but instead she saved me.

"Even after knowing how much I hurt her and her friends and nearly destroyed the world, she saved my life and it was because she understood my pain. She knows what I went through and she knows how it feels to have everything against you and nothing seems like it's going right. I do love her! I love her with my very heart and soul, she's the kindest, most generous, most selfless Mobian I've ever known and I just want to spend my life by her side but I'm scared; I'm scared that if any of her friends in the Resistnace finds out about me, they'll either kill me or thrown me into a jail cell.

"Hell, they'll probably throw Nyx into jail too for harboring an enemy of the planet and I don't want that to happen; I can't lose her, she's the first real bit of happiness I've had in the last ten years and I'd die if anything happened to her. I can't lose her, I can't lose someone I love again...I'm...I'm not strong enough", he said. Infinite continued to lay his head on the table and sob until Vadoma handed a red and white spotted handerchief which he used to wipe away his tears.

Vadoma smiled, "I don't think you were ever evil, Infinite, you simply lost your way. Many of us go through that at some point in our lives and it's how we chose to deal with it that makes us who we are", she said. Infinite sniffed, "I guess my choices really do make me a weak and worthless loser", he said. Vadoma rested her hand upon his again, "No, you weren't thinking straight and you let yourself be taken advantage of by both Eggman and your own emotions, but it was the kindness of another that allowed you to see the truth and that Infinite, is what makes you truly stronger", she said.

Infinite smiled as they both stood up and she led him outside of her wagon, just before he walked away, she gave him a small brown pouch. He looked inside to see it had tea leaves, "It's blueberry tea. It's quite bitter and doesn't taste all that great but a little honey will sweeten it up and it'll help your friend with her sore throat", said Vadoma. Infinite smiled, "Thank you so much for this Ms..."

He trailed off when he looked behind him and saw that Vadoma as well as her wagon was gone, there was no trace of either, not even any wheel marks in the grass. As put off as he was by this, Infinite still went back home; he checked on Nyx to see she was still asleep and went back to the kitchen to start cooking the soup. He then placed a bowl of it on a tray along with a cup of the sweetened blueberry tea, a dosage cup of cold/flu medicine and a washcloth soaked in cold water.

Infinite carried the tray upstairs and set it down on the side table, he looked at Nyx to see her breathing heavily and sweating profusely, "She's dripping in sweat", he said. He grabbed the washcloth and rubbed it against her forehead, and that's when she opened her eyes, "Oh I'm sorry, I didn't wake you up did I?", he said. "No...Infinite, tell me something...where were you?", she said. Infinite's eyes widened, "H...how do you know I left?", he asked.

Nyx let out a few coughs before she spoke, "Because I got up to use the bathroom, and also to throw up, and I didn't see you in the house. I was scared and I felt lonely without you here", she wheezed. Infinite sighed as he continued to rub the wet washcloth on her forehead, "I left because you were out of soup and cold/flu medicine, I needed to get you both or else you'd never get better. Thank Chaos no one recognized me but it didn't mean I wasn't still afraid but getting what you needed was more important than how I felt", he said.

Nyx breathed deeply, "You risked getting caught and possibly imprisoned or killed just to make sure I'd get better? Infinite...if it's not too much trouble...when you're done feeding me and giving me medicine, can I lie on your lap?", she said. Infinite was surprised by this but he still agreed; he then sat Nyx up in order to feed her the soup, help her drink the tea and take the medicine. After she was done, Infinite crawled onto the bed and allowed her to lie down on a pillow he placed on his lap.

"How do you feel now? A little better than before?", he asked as he ran a hand through her hair. "Yes...Infinite, you smell really nice", she whispered. Infinite was surprised, "Well I did sleep in a meadow of flowers last night...also you have some very great smelling soap in the bathrooms", he laughed. Nyx curled up and snuggled more into his lap, "Infinite...I love...you", she sighed.

Now Infinite was really taken aback because either he heard that wrong or Nyx had just said she loved him, there was no hint of uncertainty or hesitation in her voice either, she straight-up said that she loved him and that had caught him off guard. _Maybe her fever has made her way too delirious...and yet...my heart is pounding_ , he thought. "Okay I'm confused about something here Nyx", he said before his words fell on deaf ears because her eyes were closed and she was breathing softly, letting out tiny snores as she did.

"She fell asleep again", he said. Infinite sat in deep thought, he couldn't tell if he imagined her saying that or if he heard her correctly and yet even if he doubted what she had said really happened, his heart was thumping in a steady rhythm, a warm feeling filling up his chest and his stomach feeling fluttery. He felt complete, safe and happy, as if nothing else could ruin this moment he had; this was his moment of pure and true peace. Infinite gently rested his head on Nyx's and nuzzled her hair, "I love you too", he whispered.

Author's Note: That's it for Chapter 12, I don't have much to say here so I'll just tell you to tune for when Chapter 13 rolls around; until then, this is SuperKirbyLand234 signing out!


	14. Chapter 14

**See Prologue for Disclaimer**

Chapter 13: Cheering up a Friend (Infinite's POV)

 _~Nightmare Dream Sequence (Third Person POV)~_

 _A five year old Nyx ran up to her mother, who was busy sorting out laundry, laughing and jittery with excitement. "Mommy! Hey, Mommy!", she shouted._

 _Her mother, Angel Snowfall, looked down at her daughter and smiled, "What have you got there, Nyx?", she asked. Smiling innocently, Nyx held up what she had in her hands: it was a doll resembling a rabbit, made of fabric, and wearing a tiny red dress; the ears, legs and tail of the doll all had noticeable stitching around them as if those parts of the doll had been torn off and were sown back on._

" _Look at Ms. Doodles, Mommy! Her ears and legs and tail got ripped off but I performed surgery on her and stuck them back on, isn't that great?", little Nyx said excitedly. Her mother giggled, "You did? Oh you're our little doctor alright", she said as she ruffled her daughter's hair. She remembered when the doll's limbs were torn off and how upset Nyx was because that was her favorite doll, she had planned to fix it but didn't expect Nyx to fix it by herself._

" _Good job, sweetie. This is a very neat thing you did, being able to fix this doll all by yourself takes talent...but—"_

 _Angel cut herself off when she dropped the laundry basket onto the floor. Nyx looked down at the pile of clothes in confusion before looking up at her mother; her eyes widened as she saw that her once beautiful mother had suddenly transformed into a decaying corpse with what looked like three bleeding bullet wounds in her chest, "_ _ **If you can do that, why couldn't save me and Daddy?!**_ " _, the rotting corpse said._

 _Little Nyx slowly backed away from the zombie before she felt herself bump into something from behind, she turned around and screamed as she saw the hanging dead corpses of her previous four friends: Rachel, Andrew, Toby and Lindsay. "_ _ **Why couldn't you save us, Nyx? Why?!**_ " _, they all shouted._

 _Then Nyx heard maniacal laughter and turned around to see Dr. Eggman floating above her in his hovering vehicle with Infinite, the old scary one wearing the mask, floating near him. Infinite grabbed her by the throat and held her tightly as he formed one of those small red cubes in his opposite hand, "_ _ **Lets play a little game**_ " _, he snarled as he thrusted the cube at her head._

 _~End Of Nightmare Dream Sequence~_

Nyx snapped awake and abruptly sat up in her bed, momentarily startling me as I had been sitting in a chair near her bed reading a book. "Nyx, are you alright? You were dreaming again", I said. She merely sighed and laid back down again, groaning miserably; she'd been sick with the flu for the past three days and in all three of those days, all she did was mostly sleep and with sleep came the fever dreams.

She would never tell me what the dreams were about but judging by the look of panic and anguish on her face every time she woke up, I could tell they were bad. I had tried my best to make her as comfortable as possible while she was recovering: I piled her bed with the fluffiest of pillows and got her an extra warm quilt for her from the hall closet, I made her a steaming hot bowl of soup and even feed her myself, I give her medicine, I read to her to help her fall asleep and I even helped her to the bathroom when she felt too dizzy and nauseous to stand up.

Whenever I needed to leave to get more things to help her feel better, Nyx would always cling to my tail and whine like a scared puppy, her voice was gone due to her sore throat so she couldn't verbally communicate the fact that she didn't want me to leave. I knew why, she was scared that I might get caught and never come back; I always reassured her that I would come back but that didn't stop the frightened tears from falling down her face.

Surprisingly I didn't have any trouble worrying about getting caught because even though I have stumbled across her friends a majority of the time, with the exception of Silver, none of them have recognized me in the slightest. It makes me wonder how Nyx knew it was me when she found me in that alley, then again I do have a pretty distinct fur color and long white hair but no one else has noticed this?

I mean don't get me wrong, I'm truly grateful for the fact that no one other than Silver, who kept his word not to say anything, has clued in to who I actually am, but it's still weird to me that they haven't as well; I guess like that famous movie quote goes, "No cared about who was until I put on the mask" and I guess it reins true. They only knew Infinite as the monster who wore that scary mask and could bend reality to his will with the Phantom Ruby, nobody knew who was beneath the mask and given the circumstances, I don't think anybody really cared.

Anyway, I would return back home shortly after to find Nyx in the same position: curled up with her tail between her legs and still crying, and when she saw me, she'd smile widely and wag her tail. It really hurt me to see her so miserable while she was sick but she wasn't getting better any faster; granted, I was making sure she was being fed plenty of liquids, took medicine and got lots of bedrest like you're supposed to do when you're sick but her body also needed to help heal itself as well and it was sure taking it damn sweet time doing so.

But nevertheless, I didn't grow tired of taking care of Nyx, as I've already come to understand, I love her too much to ever get tired of doing anything for her but I was getting tired of seeing her so sad. I wanted to see that beautiful smile of hers and hear her adorable laughter but her illness was just sucking out all the joy from her and it frustrated me. I wanted to find a way to cheer her up but I didn't know how to; I mentally slapped myself for being so useless, it seemed like whenever I had a problem, Nyx was always on top of it but now that she's the one with the problem, I'm completely clueless.

After giving Nyx another bowl of tomato soup, some water and more medicine, I went outside to her backyard garden to get some fresh air and contemplate what to do next; she was slowly getting better and if I had to guess she'll be fully recovered in about two days but until then, she's just gonna lay there in bed with that sorrowful expression on her face. There has to be some way I can cheer her up, but what?

As I sat in the garden thinking about how to truly help Nyx, I heard a rustling from the nearby bushes; with little time to think, I grabbed the nearest weapon I could find, a pair of gardening shears, and held them up in front of me. "Who's there?! I'm warning you! I only partially know how to use these!", I threatened. The rustling grew louder as I slowly approached the bush, but before I could thrust the shears into the bush, I was greeted by a single magenta colored eye.

I hopped back in surprise as the eye then revealed itself to be on the head of some strange creature: it had a round head with two small antennae, one eye as I had mentioned, three short appendages attached to the underside of its head and bluish white skin. I looked at the creature in awe, it was certainly strange but it didn't seem dangerous. "Hello and what are you?", I said.

The creature began to speak but I couldn't understand a word it was saying, it was speaking in a language I had never even heard of. "Stop, I can't understand you. I have an idea: I'll ask you questions and then you make gestures with your...um...limbs and point to certain objects so I'll try to understand. Also nod or shake your head when I ask "Yes" or "No" questions", I said. It couldn't speak any English but it seemed to understand what I was saying.

"Now then, first question: what is your name?", I asked. The creature then pointed upward, "Oh is it "Clouds"?", I asked but it shook its head "no". I pondered, "Wait...it is "Sky"?", I asked. The creature nodded its head "Yes" and gave a happy sounding squeak. I laughed as I felt we were getting somewhere now, "Okay then, Sky. Next question: are you a male or female? I want you to either tap my right hand if you're male or my left hand if you're female", I said.

Sky flew up to me, which also took me by surprise, and tapped my left hand with one of their tentacles. "Oh so you're a girl, that's good to know. Now then, next question: where did you come from and how did you get here?", I asked. Sky began making several gestures with her tentacles in an attempt to explain; I'm not much of a charades expert but I could still piece together that she was saying she was separated from her kind in the confusion during the war and as she was trying to find them, she got lost.

I carefully reached over to pat her on the head, "Well until you can find your friends, you're more than welcome to stay here if you wish", I said. Sky let out a happy squeak as she fluttered around my head, I laughed as I saw her float around and that's when I got an idea. "I could use your help with something, I have a friend inside who's sick and really sad, so do you think you can help me cheer her up?", I said. Sky nodded before she flew over and sat on my head.

We went back inside the house and I took a quick peek upstairs to check on Nyx, she was still having a pretty restless sleep but this was the perfect opportunity to enact my plan. "Okay Sky, here's what we're going to do: I'm going into town for a minute to get something. Can you watch over her but not let her see you?", I said. Sky gave me a cute little salute before she quietly flew up the Nyx's bedroom window and discretely hung around it, I didn't waste any time and began my trip into town again.

There were a couple of things I needed if I was going to make Nyx feel better on an emotional level since getting better physically was taking too long.

~Time Lapse: Three hours later~

I knocked on the door of Nyx's bedroom, "Psst! Nyx...are you awake? Nyx—"

"Yeah Infinite, I'm awake! What do you want already?!", she shouted.

Now I felt even more sympathy for her, it was clear that Nyx didn't enjoy being sick and she too was wondering why it was taking so long for her to get better; now she wasn't just feeling miserable, she also sounded frustrated maybe even angry. I can't blame her, I don't like being confined to one place for too long before I start going mad from boredom.

"Nyx I know you've been feeling bit upset because of your illness and it pains me to see you so miserable. And I'm not mad at you for snapping at me just now because I used to get sick a lot when I was a child, I know what it's like to be force to stay in bed and wait for the sickness to pass. So I hope this helps you feel better", I said.

I then slightly opened her bedroom door so I could have a clear view of her bed as I tossed something onto it; I saw Nyx pick it up and look at it in confusion, "Infinite, what is this?", she asked. "It's a card, before I do this, I want you to read it", I called out. I heard Nyx let out a frustrated sigh before hearing her open the card, "I know you've been feeling mad, I know you've feeling blue. You no longer have to feel bad cause I've got a surprise for you? Okay Infinite, this poem is cute and all but first off, my birthday isn't until next week and second what does this—"

I cut her off as I slowly strolled into the room, playing a small guitar that I held in my hands; Sky flew out from behind me and started softly shaking a tamberine she held with one of her tentacles.

 _Infinite: "Lately, I've been, I've been thinking_

 _I want you to be happier, I want you to be happier_

 _When the morning comes_

 _When we see what we've become_

 _In the cold light of day we're a flame in the wind_

 _Not the fire that we've begun_

 _Every argument, every word we can't take back_

 _'Cause with all that has happened_

 _I think that we both know the way that the story ends_

 _Then only for a minute_

 _I want to change my mind_

 _'Cause this just don't feel right to me_

 _I want to raise your spirits_

 _I want to see you smile but_

 _Know that means I'll have to leave_

 _Know that means I'll have to leave_

 _Lately, I've been, I've been thinking_

 _I want you to be happier, I want you to be happier_

 _When the evening falls_

 _And I'm left there with my thoughts_

 _And the image of you being with someone else_

 _Well, it's eating me up inside_

 _But we ran our course, we pretended we're okay_

 _Now if we jump together at least we can swim_

 _Far away from the wreck we made_

 _Then only for a minute_

 _I want to change my mind_

 _'Cause this just don't feel right to me_

 _I want to raise your spirits_

 _I want to see you smile but_

 _Know that means I'll have to leave_

 _Know that means I'll have to leave_

 _Lately, I've been, I've been thinking_

 _I want you to be happier, I want you to be happier_

 _So I'll go, I'll go_

 _I will go, go, go_

 _So I'll go, I'll go_

 _I will go, go, go_

 _Lately, I've been, I've been thinking_

 _I want you to be happier, I want you to be happier_

 _Even though I might not like this_

 _I think that you'll be happier, I want you to be happier_

 _Then only for a minute_

 _I want to change my mind_

 _'Cause this just don't feel right to me_

 _I want to raise your spirits_

 _I want to see you smile but_

 _Know that means I'll have to leave_

 _Know that means I'll have to leave_

 _Lately, I've been, I've been thinking_

 _I want you to be happier, I want you to be happier_

 _So I'll go, I'll go_

 _I will go, go, go"._

I stood there silently after having finished my little musical number, I looked over at Nyx and waited for her to respond. I watched as she slowly stood up from her bed and made her way towards me; I couldn't help but tense up as she approached me, my heart was just racing at the thought of what she might do next.

But she surprised me when she threw her arms around me and engulfed me in a big hug, "Awwww! Infinite, that was too cute and so sweet! Thank you so much! I have been feeling down lately, what with this flu and those scary fever dreams, but you made me feel a little bit better and I appreciate that. Thank you", she said as she nuzzled her head against my chin.

I smiled and while she wasn't looking, I quietly fist-bumped as my plan had worked flawlessly. "Well I'm glad you liked it, I felt so bad for that I wanted to cheer you up. I miss that adorable smile of yours and just because you feel bad physically, doesn't mean you also have to feel bad emotionally. And I also didn't do it all by myself, I had some help from my new little friend over here", I said as I gestured to Sky.

Nyx noticed her and let out a small squee, "Awww, aren't you a cute little Wisp", she said as she went give Sky a hug. Now I was confused, "Wait...a Wisp? Is that what your species is called?", I asked. Nyx turned to me, "Yeah, you've never heard of Wisps before? Where do you think those Wispons came from? Tails made them and they're powered by an energy source called Hyper Go-On energy that comes from the Wisps. These little guys were a huge help for us during the war, it kind of the reason I made sure I never once dropped or lost my Wispon as it was the only thing I had to defend myself since I have zero combat training", she said.

I nodded, "Well, this one is named Sky and she got separated from the rest of her kind and has been wondering around trying to find them. Eventually she got lost doing so and was trying to find someone to help her out, and she was very helpful in keeping an eye on you while I went into town to buy that card and this mini guitar", I said.

"Wait, since when do you speak the Wisps' language? They can understand English but they can't speak it themselves unless you have a translation device", said Nyx. I laughed, "Oh I don't speak Wisp, Sky and I were able to communicate by playing a game of charades", I said. Nyx smiled regardless, "Well Sky, you're more than welcomed to stay here for as long as you want or until you can find your friends and family, and any friend of Infinite is a friend of mine", she said as she reached over and gave me a peck on the cheek.

I smiled as I wiped my cheek with my gloved hand, "Hey! Don't wipe away my kiss!", she said indignantly. I gave her a sympathetic smile, "I'm sorry, love, but don't forget you are still sick. And I really don't want to get sick myself", I said. Nyx pouted for a split second before she burst out in laughter, soon after I joined in and started laughing too. Even Sky was letting out these little squeaking noises which I could only assume was laughter, I didnt know; as I said previously, I don't speak Wisp.

Author's Note: And that ends Chapter 13; I wanted to make this chapter seem like a short and cute little slice-of-life chapter because, without giving too much away, the next chapter is gonna have some super serious undertones. What do I mean by that? You'll just have to wait and see what happens in Chapter 14; until then, this is SuperKirbyLand234 signing out!


	15. Chapter 15

**See Prologue for Disclaimer**

Chapter 14: A Not So Happy Birthday (Nyx's POV)

It had taken awhile, specifically an entire week, but I was finally cured of my flu and let me tell you, it was not fun. Between the constant sneezing, coughing, vomiting and fever dreams, I felt like I was gonna snap but I still managed to pull through, after all I have been through much worse than that. Now I'm just glad it was over and I was back on me feet, but before I could get back out into the field, there were some things I needed to do around the house, specifically disinfecting everything I had touched when I was sick.

I had just came up from the basement where I had thrown my germ-ridden clothes and bedsheets into the washing machine and while they were washing, I picked up a bottle of disinfecting spray and a roll of napkins and started to disinfect the rest of my house, wiping down every surface. Next, I grabbed my mop and some all purpose cleaner and used it to disinfect the floor as well; I had barfed at least twice onto the floor because I couldn't make it to the bathroom in time and Infinite had cleaned it up but I wanted to be extra sure it was clean.

Speaking of Infinite, I hadn't seen him at all since I woke up this morning; all I found was a note from him next to a bowl of soup and crackers that read "Don't worry if you don't see me around the house, I'm working on something very important. I can't tell you what it is, it's a surprise. I'll show you later. Love you. Infinite".

I don't know what he was up to and Sky, who had been helping me clean, wasn't in the interest of pantomiming what he was doing for me to know; I just gave up after a while and focused on cleaning my house. Once I was finished, I took a short rest before going back down to the basement to pull the clothes and sheets out of the washer; I put some into the dryer and the clothes I didn't dry due to them shrinking, I hung to air dry on a rack.

I went back upstairs to take stock of my inventory and it seemed I needed to make another trip to the market to buy some more food, "Hey Sky, I need to make a quick run to the market. Can you make sure the clothes aren't in the dryer for too long?", I said. She nodded as I grabbed my wallet, strapped on my Wispon and left my house; it felt good to be able to swing into town on my grappling hook again, I'm against walking but it feels exhilarating to fly through the air.

I walked into the market, grabbed a basket and began walking through the aisles picking out all food I needed. While I was there, I saw Amy standing by the bakery side of the market where they make fresh bread and pastry; I called out to her but she didn't seem to have heard me and when the bakers handed her a large cake box, she walked away without noticing I was even there.

It was a little off-putting but I guess she was busy and didn't want to be bothered, I can respect that. As I made my way towards the where the eggs were, I then saw Charmy flying out of the utensil aisle carrying a pack of paper plates and a pack of plastic forks; I waved and said hello but he didn't pay me any heed either, and this was starting to rather freak me out.

After getting the eggs, I made one last stop towards the freezer aisle to grab a gallon of milk and, to my ever growing shock, I saw both Sonic and Tails pulling out two tubs of ice cream, both of which were neapolitan flavored, from the freezer and walked off to the check-out. I once again tried to call out to them to say hello but they just ignored me; now I was beginning to feel a little hurt, these were my friends and yet for some reason they all kept blanking me out.

I eventually gave up and went to the self check-out to pay for my food, from across the way, I could see them on the regular check-out line talking and laughing about something; I didn't know what they were talking about and I was feeling too left out to bother to find out. It was at times like this that I really missed my old friends, it was always just the five of us together and we never once did anything separate from another unless it involved personal matters like our families.

I went back home to discover that Infinite still wasn't around and Sky had stop the dryer so my clothes wouldn't have burn marks on them. I sighed in frustration as I put away the food I bought, "Ugh! Infinite's not home, my friends are blanking me...this day is shaping to be a real swell time ain't it?", I said to myself. Just as I finished putting everything away, my phone started ringing, I walked over and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hey Nyx, it's Knuckles"

"Oh, hey Knuckles. What's up?"

"I need you to come to the base, pronto! An important matter has come up and I need everyone present to brief them in on the situation, get over here ASAP!"

"Oh...okay, Knuckles. I'll be there in a few minutes or so".

I hung up the phone, boy, did Knuckles seem really tense on the phone; whatever must've come up was probably super serious and important, and he needs everybody present to here about it. I once again strapped my Wispon onto my back and swung my way back to the base; once I got there, I walked over to the briefing room to find that the lights were all turned off. Okay, now I was both confused and a little scared, where was everyone? Why were the lights in the briefing room turned off? I felt along the wall until I found the switch, I flicked it on and—

"SURPRISE! Happy Birthday Nyx!"

I let out a startled scream as Sonic and the others jumped out of nowhere and shouted surprise at me; I looked around the room to see party decorations, a table laid out with food, another table laid out brightly colored wrapped boxes and a banner hanging off the wall that read "Happy Birthday Nyx". I quickly pieced together what was going on, "You...you guys threw me a birthday party?", I asked.

"Well yeah, Amy was organizing the Resistence files when she came across yours and as she read through it, it said that today, December 14, 1997, is your birthday. And today happens to be your 21st birthday so congrats Nyx", said Sonic as he patted her on the back. "We saw you at the supermarket and heard you saying hello to us but we had to sidestep you so the surprise wouldn't be ruin. Sorry if we made you feel ignored but we wanted to make sure it was special, so...what do you think?", said Tails.

I didn't know what to say, they went through the trouble of setting up a party for my birthday, which I had completely forgotten about, and they wanted to make sure it was perfect and a surprise. I couldn't help myself, I suddenly burst out into tears; through my tears, I could see everyone looking at me with concern and sympathy.

Sonic walked over to me and put his hand on my shoulder, "Hey Nyx, you okay? I mean, if this is all too much for you, we could just—"

"No Sonic, this is the single sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me in my entire life! I'm crying because I'm so happy, thank you all so very much! I couldn't have asked for better friends!", I said as I threw my arms around Sonic's shoulders and gave him a big hug. I was so happy that I was practically smothering him but he just laughed goodheartedly as did everyone else.

After that, the party was in full swing; as it turned out, the cake that Amy bought from the market was my favorite, strawberry cheesecake. I remembered I once told her about me liking that particular type of cake when we were able to talk in between missions; as per birthday traditions, I got the first and biggest piece of cake, and it was absolutely delicious. There was nothing that tasted better than a slice of freshly made strawberry cheesecake; afterwards, we played some party games and danced to some music.

During the party, Vector walked up to me holding what looked like a bottle of beer. "Um...Vector, what's with the beer?", I asked. "Well since you turned 21 years old today, and just like on Earth that's the legal drinking age for Mobians too, I figured you should have your very first taste of alcohol", he said. I heard the others, Rouge especially, giggle at this while I looked at both Vector and the beer questioningly. "Um...I don't know about this, Vector. I'm not too comfortable drinking alcohol", I said.

Vector gave me a friendly but rather strong pat on the back, "Well how about this? If you like it, then fine. But if you don't like it, I won't bug you about it anymore", he said. I then thought maybe it wouldn't be so bad to try it, after all I was now officially of the legal drinking age so maybe it won't be so bad. I took the bottle, popped it open and took a long first sip; for a minute, everything seemed okay but then I suddenly had this sick feeling in my stomach.

I quickly gave the bottle back to Vector, ran to the nearest trash can and nearly vomited my guts out; I have never tasted anything so...so...awful, and I'm pretty sure it didn't agree with my body too well as I pretty much threw back up that slice of cheesecakes and the two chili dogs I ate a few hours ago. Once I was done, I wiped my mouth clean with a napkin and helped myself to a glass of water. "Vector, no offense, but that was the absolute worst thing I've ever drank in my life and I don't ever want to drink it again!", I said.

Vector shrugged as he smiled sheepishly, "Yeah, somehow I'd knew you wouldn't like it but I just thought you should try it at least. You only turn 21 once and it's good to try new stuff", he said apologetically. I smiled, "Well I accept your apology and I appreciate what you were trying to do, but I don't think alcohol and I will be seeing each other again anytime soon", I said. Everyone laughed as did I, I guess I could admit it was pretty funny and it was still good to at least try it once.

Later as the party began to wind down, it was time for me to open my presents from everyone; the first present was from Amy, I opened it to see that it was a really cute yellow dress. "Aww, thanks Amy. I love it!", I said. "Isn't it adorable? I thought you'd look so cute while wearing it", she said. My next present was from Tails, it was a handheld tablet he designed and made himself. "Thanks Tails, this is really neat", I said. He smiled brightly at me.

My next present was from Knuckles and it was a Medal of Honor for my heroic actions during the war and the Rebuilding Project; I smiled as I saluted him, which prompted him to smile and salute me. My next present was from Silver, "Shadow would've been here but we couldn't find anyone to babysit Maria so he stayed home with her, but he still wishes you a happy birthday and said to give you this gift. It's from the both of us", he said.

I opened the box and saw that it was a pair of what looked like Shadow's hover shoes only instead of being black and red, they were black and light green. "Oh these are pretty cool", I said. Silver smiled, "Yeah, Shadow and I had them custom made", he said. Next was a present from Rouge, I took the box and slowly opened it; when I peered inside, I immediately shut the box as I felt my face heat up. "Well what's inside the box?", asked Charmy. I felt my blood rush to my cheeks and I even felt a tiny bit trickle out of my nose, "I'd rather not say what's in the box", I whispered.

Knuckles took the box from and looked inside of it, he then shut the box as well as his face turned as red as his fur, "OH! OH! Rouge, what the Hell? Like seriously?", he said. This prompted Rouge to laugh her head off, "I'm sorry but I just had to do it, and it was hilarious!", she said. She then walked up to me and gave me a hug, "I'm sorry, sweetheart, but I couldn't resist pulling a birthday prank on you. Anyway, here's your actual present", she said.

Rouge then gave me a little box, inside was a gold necklace with a bright red gem hanging at the end; I wiped the blood off my nose and smiled, "Thanks for the necklace, Rouge. And I'll admit your prank was a little funny but can you knock it off a little though? My boyfriend and I are not _there_ yet and plus I'm waiting until after I'm married to do _that_ anyway", I said. She gave me a playful wink as I jokingly punched her on the shoulder.

Next, Vector walked up and gave me another present. "This is from me, Espio and Charmy. Hope you like it", he said. I opened it to see that it was a light grey video camera, "Wow Vector, this is neat but why a video camera though?", I asked. "We have one that we use to record our detective logs, so we figured we'd get you one too. You can use it take videos while bird watching or use it to record video diaries or anything you want", he said.

I smiled as I walked over and gave him, Espio and Charmy each a hug, "Well thanks boys, this is really cool", I said. Finally the last one to give me a present was Sonic, it was a long and flat rectangular box that was poorly wrapped. "Sorry, I kinda suck at wrapping boxes but I hope you like it", he said. I opened to see that it was a framed picture of Sonic and I, he was posed with his right hand on my shoulder and his left hand giving a thumbs up; I was standing next to him giving the peace sign with both my hands and smiling widely.

"Wait a minute...I recognize this picture. We took this like about two days after I rescued you from the Death Egg! You...you framed and kept it?", I said. "Yeah and then I thought it'd make a great birthday present", said Sonic. I smiled as I felt tears come to the corners of my eyes again, I reached over and gave him another hug.

"Thank you. This was really sweet of you and...I never got the chance to tell how grateful I'm for all the help you gave me during the war, you encouraged me to push past my fears and fight for the freedom of our world. If it wasn't for you, I probably would've either quit after the first day or probably be dead, so...thank you again Sonic, for everything", I said as I hugged him again. I then giggled as I saw him wipe his hand across his eyes furiously, "Aww man, dang it Nyx. Now you got me acting all sappy!", he said jokingly.

I once again thanked everyone for the wonderful gifts they gave me as well as being such amazing friends before I walked over to the table to help myself to another slice of cheesecake, but before I could take a bite of the sweet treat, the security alarms went off; everyone tended up as a soldier rushed into the room and approached Knuckles, "What's going on?! Why did the alarms set off?", he asked. "Sir! We've got a serious situation on our hands! It's...it's Infinite! He infiltrated our base!", shouted the soldier.

At that moment, my heart caught in my throat as the plate holding my slice of cheesecake slipped out of my hands and fell to the floor. I was the first person to run outside where I saw him...I saw Infinite standing out in the open, surrounded by a battalion of Resistence soldiers; he looked terrified as he stood with both of his hands behind his head.

"Infinite!"

He turned and looked in my direction as I had screamed his name. Without thinking, I ran out into the middle of the circle of soldiers and stood in front of him as I drew my Wispon. "Cadet Snowfall, we need to ask you to step away from the dangerous criminal standing behind you", said one of the soldiers. "No! None of you are gonna lay a finger on him! If you want to get to Infinite, you'll have to go through me first! And mind you, I defeated him in battle twice, so I can handle anything you dish out at me!", I shouted.

The soldiers as well as my friends looked at me in shock but I didn't care, all that mattered was protecting the man I loved. Just then, Sonic slowly made his way through the line of soldiers and was slowly walking towards me, "Sonic! Stay back! I-I-I don't wanna hurt you!", I said. He still came towards me, "Nyx, it's gonna be okay, we can work this out. Just put down the Wispon and we'll talk about this", he said with a concern expression.

My hands started shaking with fear as my thoughts became cloudy, he was getting too close and I was terrified that him might hurt Infinite. I wasn't thinking, I pointed my Wispon straight at him as he kept getting closer. "GET AWAY!", I screamed as I fired it at him. It blasted Sonic about ten feet away into the wall of one of the Resistence's warehouses, "SONIC!", I heard Amy scream but only barely as my brain slowly processed what I had just done.

I let out a loud and horrified scream as my Wispon fell out of my hands. "Take 'em out!", I heard one of the soldiers shout as two of them pointed their weapons at me. In my hysteria, I saw these wires fire from their weapons and attach themselves to my body before I was suddenly assaulted by painful electric shock, they had shot me with taser guns. After being electrocuted for about thirty seconds, the tazers shut off as I fell to the ground, my body twitching and convulsing.

"NYX!"

I vaguely heard Infinite scream my name but I was too disoriented and close to passing out from the electric that I didn't even really acknowledge the soldiers who were cuffing my hands behind my back. As they were dragging me away, I looked up and saw, despite my vision having gone blurry, that Infinite was also being handcuffed and led away too, and he wasn't resisting or fighting back.

He looked at me with tears in his eyes, he seemed absolutely scared for my safety and looked like he desperately wanted to rush to my side to make sure I was okay. Before I finally passed out, I looked up at him and mouthed the words "I'm so sorry" before my eyes closed and everything went black.

Author's Note: That's it for Chapter 14 and wow...the crap has really hit the fan now hasn't it? What will happen to Nyx and Infinite now that everyone knows that the latter is alive while the former just attacked one of their own? Will Nyx be able to convince her friends that Infinite is no longer a bad guy? Or will she suffer serious punishment for her traitorous actions? Find out next time in Chapter 15; until then, this is SuperKirbyLand234 signing out!


	16. Chapter 16

**See Prolouge for Disclaimer**

Chapter 15: It's Not What You Think (Third Person POV)

Nyx felt a sudden wave of dizziness as she regained consciousness, she didn't immediately open her eyes but could feel something soft beneath her. When she did open them, she saw that she was lying in a bed with a white blanket draped over her shoulders; Nyx looked around and saw that she was in a room with beige colored walls and a single window that was barred shut, in fact when she looked in front of her, she saw several rows of thick metal bars blocking the exit.

The realization struck her almost instantly: she was in a jail cell! Admittedly, it was the nicest looking jail cell she'd ever seen what with its beige colored walls, grey tiled floor and in-cell bathroom but it was still a jail cell nonetheless. "Hello? Is anyone there?", she called out nervously. Suddenly one of the Resistance soldiers approached the front of her cell, "What's wrong? Are you thristy? Hungry? Is it too cold in there? I could fetch you another blanket", he said.

Nyx was taken aback by not only his calm tone of voice but also his generous offerings of food, something to drink and an extra blanket; she had remembered everything that happened prior to her passing out and she felt she would've been treated much differently. "No I'm alright. I have to ask...what happened?", she said. "After you lose consciousness, you were taken to the infirmary and looked over for any injuries. After that, we were told to put you and Infinite in separate holding cells until Commander Knuckles wishes to speak with you", said the soldier.

At the sound of Infinite's name being spoken, Nyx perked up. "Where's Infinite? Is he okay? Did you hurt him?", she asked. The soldier shook his head, "He's fine. He's in a holding cell at the far end of the hall, he surrendered quite easily and was actually asking us if you were alright not too long ago", he said. Just then another soldier showed up, "I just received word from Knuckles, he wants us to escort Cadet Snowfall to the briefing room for interrogation", he said. Nyx gulped nervously as the soldiers opened her cell door and gently coaxed her into following them, they weren't authorized to use force on her nor did they need to, despite attacking Sonic a few hours ago they knew Nyx wasn't a threat to anyone nor did she have ill intentions.

When they arrived at the briefing room, Nyx was greeted by the concerned faces of the others and the rather stern face of Knuckles; she also noticed that Shadow was there as well, which surprised her as he wasn't at her birthday party hours ago but she figured Silver probably called him and told him what had happened. Speaking of Silver, he was currently standing next to Shadow while baby Maria laid in the stroller next to him.

Nyx sat down on one of the large crates in the room as Knuckles walked up to her; despite the guilt, fear and anxiety that was slowly ebbing it's way up her spine and stomach, she left brave enough to speak first. "Um...h-h-how is s-s-Sonic d-d-doing?", she asked shakingly. "He's fine, that stunt you pulled earlier only left him with a broken arm and a mild concussion. Right now, we're here to talk about you and Infinite", said Knuckles.

At this point, Nyx couldn't stop herself and she slowly burst into tears. "Knuckles...I-I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to do it! I-I-I panicked and my hand was on the trigger...and...I just blasted...", she stammered. Knuckles put a hand to his face and sighed, "What I wanna know is why...why did you defend Infinite? Why did he surrender so easily? You both seemed awfully concerned for each other's safety when the soldiers took both of in, so I want you to answer me this and answer me truthfully: is Infinite the so called boyfriend you said you had?", he said.

Nyx hiccuped as she nodded, she couldn't lie to her friends, mostly because her parents had raised her to always tell the truth and that lying only ever made things worse, and the situation was bad enough that Nyx didn't want to make it worse. This revelation made everyone gasped, "But it's not what you guys think! He's changed, I swear! I made him see the error of his ways and he feels remorseful for what he's done, I mean he can't take what he did back but he regrets every single one of his actions. And since then, he's been a really good guy"—

 _ **SLAP!**_

Everyone gasped in shock and horror as they had just witnessed Knuckles slap Nyx across the face with the back of his right hand; Nyx grabbed her now bruised left cheek and began to cry hysterically, practically yelling out in pain. Rouge angrily stormed over to Knuckles and forcefully yanked him around to face her, "You mind telling me what the actual Hell that was all about?!", she shouted in his face.

"You heard the nonsense she was just spewing, right?! Infinite is good? Infinite feels remorse? He regrets what he did? He's a good guy? I don't know if he tricked her or she's just that stupid but a guy like that can't change! Not after all the horrible things he's done, people like him don't ever change!", he said. At the sound of that, Nyx suddenly grew very angry; she jumped off of the crate and confronted Knuckles.

"You're a giant freaking hypocrite, you that right!?", she said.

"What did you just call me?!", asked Knuckles.

"A GIANT FREAKING HYPOCRITE! How dare you stand there and claimed that Infinite can't change because of the terrible things he's done? If I recall correctly, a certain hedgehog had long ago done some pretty terrible things as well such as almost helping a dead mad scientist and an alien race destroy the planet and yet you all forgave him for that, but now Infinite comes along and does equally as bad things and you say he's not worthy of forgiveness?!

"Who are you to say who can change and who can't? What do you know? You wouldn't even have known what it was like to have any friends if you hadn't met Sonic, you would've continued to spend your lonely and miserable life up in that floating island of yours, guarding your precious Master Emerald. Oh and by the way, how is it doing actaully? I'm surprised Eggman never once tried to steal it during the entire war since you weren't there to guard it. Hell, you're so gullible and naive that you've actually contributed to some of the bad things that have happened to Sonic and the others in the past.

"I mean, look at Silver: he put his trust into an obviously evil person only once, you've put your trust in Dr. Eggman, DR. FREAKING EGGMAN, on several occasions and you never learned your lesson after each time. Now back to Infinite: you have no right to claim he can't change! You don't know him like I do, you haven't spent the last two months getting to know the tortured soul behind that scary mask! You don't know about the pain and misery he's gone through before and during the war!

"Do you think Infinite had a choice when he did all those terrible things?! He was a slave to Eggman and the Phantom Ruby, he wanted people to feel his pain but when it became too much, he wanted to stop. He couldn't because that ruby had warped his mind and distorted his reality as much as he distorted ours and there was nothing he could do about it! Do you wanna know why I defended him hours ago? Why I'm still defending now?..."

Nyx trailed off as she, without any hesitation, ripped off her gloves and displayed her arms out for everyone to see; they gasped in shock and horror at the faded pink lines that decorated her wrists and forearms. "It's because I understand him! Three years ago, my parents were murdered and I found out about it too little too late; I fell into a depression so deep that I began cutting myself in order to feel something other than crippling heartache.

"My cutting went too far and I almost killed myself but my friends had stopped me and got me professional help. I had to spend three months in a mental ward where I refused treatment, refused social interaction and even gnawed into my own arms when they confiscated anything I could've used to cut myself. I was mentally broken but somehow I was able to pull myself out of the ditch I had dug myself into; I slowly recovered and I had my friends to thank for that but then the war came, they wanted to fight back against Infinite even though I told them it was too dangerous and he killed them all, sparing me.

"Before you found me, Knuckles, I ran away into one the abandoned cities where I sat amongst the rubble and mourned over them; I saw broken glass everywhere around me and almost contemplated cutting myself with a piece until I remembered that my therapist said if I gave into my fears and sorrow, I'd officially let it beat me and I couldn't do that, it was the only reason I was able to get over my parents' deaths.

"When the war ended, when I went to go back home, I found Infinite lying in an alley; he was bleeding to death because Eggman had ripped the Phantom Ruby out of his chest. I went over to help him and he snapped at me, telling to leave him alone to die there, but when I looked into his eyes...I saw myself. I saw me back when my parents died, I saw the same fear and hopelessness that I had felt when they were taken from me. Like Infinite, I had wanted to die and almost succeeded several times but unlike him, I had friends both old and new to help me push past my fears and brave all that came at me.

"I saved him because I didn't want him to become another me, I couldn't stand to see someone end up like how I was. I took care of him and over time, we learned more about one another; he's lost those he cares about as well but he responded through anger and violence because he had no one to comfort him and reassure him that things might be bad but they eventually get better and that you shouldn't lose hope beciae of it.

"I liked him as a friend but as we spent more time together and he continued to show just how much he truly cares for me and how he regrets his wrong doings, my feelings for him have changed. So yeah, I'm in love with Infinite, and I'm not afraid...I'm not ashamed! I'll scream it for the whole world to hear, do you hear me? I'M IN LOVE WITH INFINITE! And I trust him enough to know that he wants to be a better person! And if you don't like that, then...you can kiss my purple fluffy ass and go straight to Hell for all I care!"

Nyx had at last finished her tirade as she pushed Knuckles aside and ran out of the room crying, not noticing Sonic walking in on her way out; he did, however, notice her as she almost barreled into him and knocked him over. "Um...did I miss something heavy?", he asked. Just then a soldier ran in, "Commander Knuckles, Cadet Snowfall just left the base. Should we go after her and bring her back?", he asked.

Knuckles sighed as he leaned heavily on the control panel of the main computer, "No...just let her go. She's not a threat to anyone and...she needs to be alone right now, it's for the best", he said. The air was thick with awkward tension and unhappiness, when Sonic asked again what happened, Shadow gave him the abridged version of what had took place.

Sonic walked over to Knuckles and punched him so hard in the shoulder that he knocked him down and almost dislocated it, "Ow! Sonic, what was that for?", asked Knuckles. Sonic looked at him with confused anger, "I thought you were better than that, but I guess we all make mistakes", he said as he left to go find Nyx.

Meanwhile down the hall, Infinite sat on his bed in deep thoughtful; he had heard the entire conversation transpire and he couldn't believe what he had heard. Nyx said she loved him and that she didn't care if everyone disagreed with her or said he didn't deserve forgiveness, she even went as far as to explain why she felt sympathy for him and why she couldn't just leave him to rot and die. It warmed Infinite's heart as well as brought him to tears knowing the girl he loved had loved him in return and it saddened him to think about the amount of emotional pain she had just put herself through to prove her point.

He laid down with his back to the cell door and curled up on the bed, covering himself with the blanket and snuggling the pillow close to his body as if it were another person, "I'm sorry you had to do that to yourself, Nyx. I wish you were here so I could hug you and tell you it's going to be okay", he whispered as he cried himself to sleep.

Meanwhile, Sonic had finally found Nyx after asking any passerbys who might have seen her; they point him towards Aqua Road, where he found Nyx sitting on a bridge over the large lake below. She was staring off in the distant as he approached her, "Hey, I was told you might've been over here", he said.

"Go away! Oh...sorry, I thought you were Knuckles. Though I'm not sure why'd you want to see me either...I messed up Sonic! I messed up royally! I hurt you, Infinite's probably going to jail now and the others must hate me...I know Knuckles does", she said as she gingerly touched her bruised cheek, flinching at the sudden pain.

Sonic went to stand near her, "Knuckles doesn't hate you, none of them hate you. They're just scared for you and they feel bad for you, I feel bad for you. I've never seen you act this way and it upsets me, and about hurting me, I was tortured for six months straight so I've literally been through worse than a broken arm. And besides, you were just scared, I get that", he said.

Nyx let out a dry humorless laugh, "You? Scared? You're Sonic the Hedgehog! The same guy who saved the planet and possibly the universe on several occasions from the real Chaos, an evil alien race, a dark god inside the planet that turned you into some kind of werewolf type creature, freed a friendly alien race from slavery, fought a time eating monster, time traveled on several occasions, fought evil genies and wizards and knights inside storybooks apparently and faced off against Dr. Eggman and his robotic minions time and time again. What do you have to be afraid of?", she said.

Sonic sighed sadly, "Believe it or not, there was one thing I was afraid of most throughout all those events, and it even goes beyond my fear of the water: it failure. I was confident that I would stop the bad guys and save the day but I was also terrified that if I failed, I'd be putting my friends and the world in danger. I was afraid of letting those I care about down, of not being the hero they need me to be.

"Remember how I was being tortured on the Death Egg for six months? Well Eggman didn't stop at physical torture cause he knew I could take it, I've been hurt before to the point where I'm used to it even it still hurts, so he went for emotional torture. He'd show me video feeds of the war effort and I'd watch in horror at the sight of all those who lost their lives trying to fight back, all those who were losing hope because I wasn't there to help them, to save them, to inspire them with my bravery.

"I felt like when I lost and was captured, I let my friends and everyone else down; I was scared that if I ever did escape and saw them again, they'd think I abandoned them and they'd hate me. Of course, I was proven wrong when they were all happy to learn I was still alive, it gave them and everyone else hope that we could win the war. But even after I got back, I was still scared of failing them again, so I put on a brave face and did what I could to inspire everyone to fight for their freedom and the freedom of our home planet. So yeah, Nyx, I do have something to be afraid of and again, it's not just my fear of water due to me not being able to swim", said Sonic.

Nyx didn't know what to in regards to her best friend/hero revealing that even he had times where he was afraid but he still pushed through his fears if only to give others the confidence and bravery to stand up for what they believed in. And in a way, he had done that when she stood up for Infinite because she had the bravery to tell off Knuckles for assuming Infinite couldn't change and revealing her love for the jackal as well as her tragic life story.

"I guess...I've still got a lot to learn and maybe...I was scared but that doesn't mean I can't push past my fears and try to help others understand. I should go back and apologize for the way I acted, and maybe I'll try to plead my case a little bit better, it might help keep Infinite out of prison", she said. Sonic smiled as he stretched out his good arm to offer his hand to help her back on the bridge platform, "Yeah, and I have a feeling ol' Knucklehead is gonna want to apologize for you too seeing as how he slugged you in the face", he said.

Nyx laughed as she went to grab his hand but as she stood up, she lost her footing. Time seemed to stop almost immediately as Nyx's hand slipped away from Sonic's fingertips and she fell...

She fell and fell...down into the awaiting large body of water below her!

Author's Note: That's the end of Chapter 15 and yeah, I left it on a cliffhanger, just to get you guys excited and scared. Nyx just fell into a large body of water and as you know Sonic is afraid of the water because he can't swim...so what'll happen next? Will Nyx survive so she can set things right? Or will she end up drowning? Will Knuckles see that maybe Nyx was right to trust and forgive Infinite and maybe he was too harsh on her? And how will Infinite react when he hears about this? Find out next time in Chapter 16; until then, this is SuperKirbyLand234 signing out!


	17. Chapter 17

**See Prologue for Disclaimer**

Chapter 16: Everyone Deserves a Second Chance (Third Person POV)

Sonic watched in horror as Nyx fell into the large body of water below the bridge, going under for about five seconds before she came back up and started splashing around and struggling to stay afloat. "Sonic! Help me! I can't swim!", she screamed. And now Sonic was mentally kicking himself for his fear/inability to swim, his friend was drowning and he couldn't do anything.

 _No there's at least something I can do to help_ , he thought, _it might be stupid but I have to at least try_. He turned and another passerby and ran up to them, "Hey listen, my friend needs help down there! She can't swim and neither can I, I need you to go get the Resistence so they can send help. Can you do that for me?", he asked. The random bystander nodded as they hurriedly ran to the Resistence Base, and while that was going on, Sonic ran back to the edge of the bridge and threw himself over the side.

He didn't so much swim as he did inch his way to Nyx and held her close to him with his good arm, "Sonic?! What are you doing here?! You can't swim either!", she shouted. Sonic smiled sheepishly as he too struggled to keep both of them afloat, "Well at the very least, I can make sure you won't drown alone. And besides I sent someone to go and get help, hopefully they'll show up soon", he said.

Nyx didn't know whether to thank him or slap him so she just resigned herself to trying desperately to keep herself from sinking but it was becoming difficult as the water was freezing and her limbs were starting to go numb. "S-s-s...Sonic...I'm s-s-so c-c-cold", she stuttered. Sonic could also feel his teeth chattering as well as an uncomfortable stiffness in his legs, "I k-k-know the f-f-feeling", he said through clenched teeth.

At this point they were both struggling to keep themselves from sinking but the more they paddled and flopped around, the more times their heads were momentarily submerged in water, causing them to cough and sputter. Nyx whimpered in fear as she clung to Sonic's waist as tightly as she could with her numb fingers.

 _Well, it seems that the little puppy has finally reached the end of her tether. Maybe we should just cut the leash._

Nyx heard a cold hearted voice coming from within her own mind and she knew exactly who it was that was talking to her; she closed her eyes as she let her mind wander into her subconscious, there she came across a familiar figure. "Hello again...Dark Me", she said. The figure stepped out from the shadows to reveal another Nyx only with purple fur so dark that it almost looked black and red eyes, the other Nyx smiled wickedly.

 _Well hello, Light Me. Nice to see you again after all these years, you think you can maybe...oh I don't know...unchain me now?!_

Dark Nyx was referring to the thick metal shackles attached to her wrists and ankles that kept her from moving around too much except for the occasional hand gestures, "Are you kidding? Last time I let you loose, you almost bit my arm clean off! If I let you go now, you'll probably try to drown me and Sonic! I don't get it though: why? Why is it that whenever I had let you out, you've always tried to kill me? And why whenever I didn't you'd just sit there and insult me? I'm you and you're me so why are you even doing this to me/you/us?!", Nyx screamed in anger.

Dark Nyx sat there quietly for a minute or so before her head dropped down and her shoulders began shaking violently, at first Nyx thought she was laughing but upon further inspection, it was revealed that she was crying. "What's wrong? You've never shown vulnerability around me before, so why start now?!", asked Nyx. Her darker half looked up at her with sad and hopeless eyes.

 _I only wanted the pain to stop! We were suffering and in that moment death was our only means of peace but you just refused to lie down and die! Why? I don't get it, your/our parents were dead and we were broken, so why couldn't you just die and spare us the pain? I'm the darker half so that means I take the full brunt of your negative emotions, why couldn't you just end it all?_

Nyx sighed as she sat in front of her dark counterpart, "It's because I'm not a coward. Yes my parents were killed and I had fallen into a deep depression that eventually led its way to suicidal tendacies, and there were two ways I could've handled it: I could've just laid down and put myself out of my misery or I could accept the help my friends and my therapist was giving me so I could recover. In that situation, there was something I could do about it to end the problem", she said.

Dark Nyx sniveled and looked away from her lighter counterpart.

 _So what happens now? I mean, your/our boyfriend is probably going to prison and it won't matter how many times you say he's changed, it won't erase what he did to the planet. He'll be taken away from you/us so...what then? We'll lose the last bit of true happiness in our lives and let's be real here: Sonic and the others may be your friends but they'll never truly understand you the way Infinite does, they've never experinced the pain he and you/us have gone through._

Nyx thought about it and...Dark Nyx was right: even if the others give her a free pass for attacking Sonic and harboring Infinite, that didn't change the fact that he still did terrible things and was most definitely going to be punished for them. He'd be sent away to some maximum security prison and Nyx would never get the chance to be near him again.

She'll never get to feel her hands running through his soft and silky hair or listen to his calm and mellow voice or looked into his shining heterochromic eyes or breath in his fiery and wild scent or feel his soft lips touch hers.

Nyx had finally come to accept that everything she ever loved has and always will be taken away from her and there's nothing she can do about it. "I guess if this is it, we might as well accept our fate. I mean what's waiting for us if we go back? A world where I can't have both my friends and the man I love near me is a world that...I no longer wish to live in. To put simply...I'm done!", she said.

Dark Nyx gave her a sad smile as she reached over and hugged her lighter counterpart, the both of them crying and leaning into each other's embrace.

 _At least we won't go the way of Mom and Dad, drowning's a lot better than getting shot in the chest. And hey, when it's over we'll see them again, along with the old gang. Let's hope they're happy to see us when we get there._

Nyx snapped back to reality to see that Sonic was still struggling to keep them afloat but it was obvious his limbs were getting very tired and it wouldn't be long before he gave up and they both sank to the bottom of the lake.

Nyx sighed, "There's at least one thing I can do to before I go", she whispered. She reached over and unclipped her grappling hook from her wrist, she knew it'd be shorted out by the water but it still had a little power left in it, it was still good for one last shot.

She grabbed Sonic's good arm and clipped it to his wrist, "Uh...Nyx, what are you doing? Why are you clipping your grappling hook to my wrist? Follow-up question: why didn't you mention you still had that? It might be a bit water logged but it could help get us out of here", he said.

Nyx smiled sadly as she looked him in the eyes, "You've given me so much to hope for, you were there to help me when I needed it. Your bravery inspired me to fight for myself and confront any obstacle that stood in my way, I don't think I'd be the person I am today if it wasn't for your courage and friendship. I'll be eternally grateful and I'll always cherish our time together as friends and comrades-in-arms", she said.

Sonic looked at her with fearful confusion, "Nyx what are you talking about? Why are you talking like and smiling so weird? Knock it off, you're starting to really scare me", he said. Nyx gave him a strong and loving hug before pointing his arm in the direction of the bridge, "You're my best friend and I'm sorry to say I must leave you now but I promise we will meet again someday", she said. Sonic quickly caught on to what she w as doing and it made his heart race, "Wait...no! No, Nyx, don't! Stop, please...what are you...?"

"Sayonara, Sonic the Hedgehog".

And with that, Nyx fired the grappling hook at the bridge and let the mechanism yank Sonic out of the water and out of harms way; unfortunately that meant that there was nothing trying to stop Nyx from drowning and she was quickly pulled under by the force of gravity, however, she let it happen.

Nyx didn't fight as she felt herself sinking lowers and lower, she simply thought that if there wasn't anything left for her back home then what was the point of staying. She gently closed her eyes as she sank deeper into the water, and back on the surface, Sonic could only stare at where she was in silence as he dangled from one of the bridge's metal beams by his good arm, tears falling from his almost blank and lifeless eyes.

Meanwhile back at the base, Infinite was awoken from his nap by a rather pleasant smell; he yawned and sat up just in time to see one of the guards open the door of his cell and set a tray of food on the table in the corner. The meal consisted of mashed potatoes, steak and corn, with a glass of water to drink; it confused Infinite as to why he was being kept in a relatively nice cell and being fed good food as opposed to prison gruel but he wasn't complaining and he was pretty hungry.

So he sat at the table and began to eat the food, and as he did, he could hear several voices speaking loudly down the hall. The bystander that Sonic had convinced to get help had finally made it to the base and was babbling rather loudly and excitedly that the others couldn't understand. "Calm down buddy, now tell us what's going on", said Knuckles. "Sonic sent me to get help from the Resistence, that wolf girl was drowning in the lake by Aqua Road", he said.

Upon hearing this, the fork fell from Infinite's hand and the food he just ate felt like a rock inside his stomach; he just overheard that Nyx was drowning in the lake near Aqua Road and if he remembered correctly neither she nor Sonic could swim so it'd made sense why he'd send for help. But this meant that while they're dawdling around, Nyx is somewhere dying and no one can help her.

Thinking quickly or perhaps not really thinking at all, Infinite ran towards his cell door, slamming it open before the guards could close it. Speaking of the guards, Infinite knocked both of them out so they couldn't stop him before he took off running out of the base; he almost ran into the others on their way out to go help Nyx, "Hey was that Infinite that just ran right past us?", asked Charmy.

"Yeah, how'd he escape? And where's he even going anyway?", asked Amy. "From where I'm standing it looks like he's headed towards Aqua Road, he must've overheard our conversation and now he's going to try to save Nyx himself", said Shadow. "Well as much as it pains me to say this, he'll need our help", said Knuckles as they all proceeded to follow Infinite to Aqua Road.

Infinite got there first and we he ran across the bridge, he came across Sonic who had managed to detach himself from Nyx's grappling hook and now he was sitting on the floor with his face buried in his knees. "Sonic, where is she? Where's Nyx?", asked Infinite.

Sonic's shoulders shook violently as he looked up with angry tears in his eyes, "She sank under the water! She saved me and let herself drown! She had her grappling hook, why didn't she just save herself?! I could've gotten out but her...", he trailed off as he continued to cry in frustration.

Infinite looked down at the water below before he stepped over the edge and jumped into it himself, "No! Infinite not you too!", shouted Sonic. On his way down, Infinite looked back up at him. "It's alright, unlike you I actaully know how to swim", he called out as he hit the water. Though it was hard to see, Infinite could make out Nyx's slowly sinking body as she was still descending to the bottom of the lake; he swam down as fast as he could towards her and grabbed her, holding her close to him.

She's probably swallowed a lot of water, he thought, there's only one thing I can do to save her. Infinite then pressed his lips to Nyx's and breathed all the air he held within his own lungs into hers; he suddenly felt dizzy and lightheaded before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he lost consciousness. Nyx, on the other hand, immediately woke up the minute her lungs were filled with oxygen; she looked down to see Infinite's unconscious body lying on top of hers.

 _Infinite...what's he doing...wait there's air in my lungs...did he just save me_ , she thought. Before Nyx could think about this further, she and Infinite were suddenly surrounded by a large fishing net that ensnared them both and began pulling them up to the surface. As they made it to the water's surface, Nyx was that it was the Chaotix who were pulling the net that held her and Infinite, with Silver using his psychokinesis to lift them up onto the bridge once they were out of the water.

When she felt the hard concrete surface of the bridge beneath her, Nyx let out a gasp and a few coughs as the fresh air hit her lungs again; her friends all crowded around her to see if she was alright, "Can you do me a huge favor and never do that again? For Chaos sake, you nearly gave me a heart attack you know", said Sonic. Suddenly Nyx remembered Infinite had rescued her and went to check on the unconscious jackal, he laid on the ground with Shadow crouched near his head.

"He doesn't seem to be waking up, Nyx", he said. Nyx began panicking as she tried performing CPR on him, "NO! Not again, I'm not losing someone else, especially not the man I love! You hear me, Infinite?! You're not gonna die, you need to wake up! You have to, come on! Wake up! Please wake up! Infinite, please...please wake up...don't leave me...I don't want...to live in this world...if you're not in it", Nyx sobbed as she slowly stopped giving him chest compressions and laid her head down on his chest as she cried for him.

 _Please come back to me Infinite...I'm sorry I tried to kill myself again...I thought I was gonna lose you forever and then there'd be no point in continuing to live...but if you die now...I don't think I can go on_ , she thought. Nyx continued to sob into Infinite's chest, saddened by the fact that she'd have to part ways with villain-turned-hero who learned to be good and showed her love.

Just then, she felt a hand place itself upon hers and this was followed by the sounds of watery coughing; Nyx lifted her head up to see Infinite cough before he opened his eyes and looked at her, "I...guess this...makes us even now", he said with a tired smile. Nyx let out a happy squad as she helped him sit up and hugged him tightly, "Oh Infinite! I'm so glad you're alive, I'm sorry I put us both through that horrible ordeal! I promise I'll never do that again, oh Infinite I love you!", she shouted.

Upon hearing this, Infinite lifted a hand to gently stroke Nyx's bruised cheek; he then slowly turned her to face him and carefully moved in to plant a kiss on her lips. Nyx's breath hitched as she gave in to the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck; she could feel the love and passion he was putting into it as her chest heated up and a fluttery feeling exploded inside her stomach. Before the kiss could go further, they both heard a voice near them. "Geez, get a room you two".

They both stopped and look up to see the others looking at them with either happy smiles or playful smirks, and this made both of them feel extremely embarrassed and awkward; they both quickly stood up as their faces flushed a bright red, but even they couldn't help but let out a few laughs.

Knuckles then stepped forwards and placed his hand on Nyx's shoulder, "Nyx I want to apologize for what I did earlier, I shouldn't have accused you of being gullible or stupid and I definitely shouldn't have hit you in the face. It was unbecoming of me and I promise not to do it again", he said. Nyx smiled as she lifted her hand and smacked him on the head, "Okay in retrospect, I deserved that", said Knuckles as he rubbed his forehead.

Nyx smiled, "There now we're even and I accept your apology, and I also apologize for my rather tasteless outburst earlier. I probably should've figured you wouldn't believe me when I said Infinite was good now but I never lie, he truly has changed for the better...and well...he and I are in love. It might seem weird but we're happy and...I know he can't undo the things he's done but at least give him a chance to prove he's not a bad guy anymore", she said.

Infinite then stepped forward and bowed his head, "It's true, as difficult as it is to believe, but I've truly changed. I see now that everything I did, I had done because I was angry about my weakness and I wanted to be stronger but then I lost sight of myself and began to feel that the way to make myself stronger was to use a power I shouldn't have had to wipe out those I perceived to be lower than me.

"I know that I cannot go back and undo the destruction I caused but I want you to know that I am truly sorry for all that I've done to you all and the rest of the world and I am deeply regretful for my actions. And even though I won't like it and it'll probably mean that Nyx and I will have to be separated, I accept whatever punishment you think is fair", he said.

Knuckles stepped forward and extended his hand to Infinite in a gesture that suggested he wanted to shake his hand, this confused Infinite. "Wha...I don't under—"

"You may have been a real scumbag and you did cause a lot of destruction but...you just risk your life to save one of own, if that doesn't make you a hero then I don't know what does. Also, after Nyx's little outburst earlier, I called and spoke with the president of the United Federation and I explained the whole situation to him. Now under normal circumstances, you'd be facing life in prison but after discussing your turn-around, thanks to Nyx, he's agreed on this: you'll be allowed to go free if you agree to serve 5 years of community service.

"You helped Eggman wreck the world, so it's only fair that you'd help put it back together. You'll be given a task of my choosing and you will do it with no hesitation and no questions asked, if you break this deal then you'll be sent to prison, no getting around it. But since you've made a life for yourself with Nyx, I have no doubt that you'll go along with this just so you two can stay together, so...do we have a deal?", he said.

Infinite looked back at Knuckles and smiled as he shook his outstretched hand, "I accept, its only fair that pay my debt back to society by helping it to heal wherever and/or whenever I can, and this way, I can still be with the girl I love", he said. The others as well as the small crowd that gathered around them all cheered when Infinite accepted, it'd take some time before he'd be probably be 100% accepted by society but he was prepared to face the hardships of it meant he'd get to stay with Nyx.

Just then, Infinite was approached by an old homeless looking man carrying a large trash bag. "Hey I was rooting around in a dumpster looking for glass bottles and I found this, I thought you'd might want it back", he said as he reached into the bag and pulled out a familiar object. It was Infinite's mask, "Oh that's right! I found on the floor the day I saved you but I guess when I carried you back home, I must've just left it on the ground and forgot about it", said Nyx.

Infinite took the mask from the homeless man, stared at it for a minute and then threw it as hard as he could into the lake, surprising everyone. "Why'd you do that?", asked Sonic. Infinite took a deep breath as he watched the mask sink into the water, "On this day, I give up my old mask. I let go of the old me, the one that was truly weak because he thought that using a dark power would make him stronger, but now I see that it is the love I have for the girl who saved me, the girl who showed me the light, that truly makes me stronger. On this day, I am truly reborn thanks to the light of hope that Nyx has lit within my heart and soul", he said.

Nyx smiled as she walked over to him, "Oh...Infinite...", she trailed off as she hugged him close and leaned in to give him another kiss. Infinite leaned in to indulge himself in the love he and Nyx shared for one another; they were finally free to be together and express their love for each other and even though there was a long road ahead of them before Infinite would be trusted by the rest of the world, at least they had a group of friends that'll be there to help them every step of the way.

And they wouldn't have it any other way.

Author's Note: That ends Chapter 16, but it's not over yet; there's still the Christmas chapter I promised I'd write and the ending epilogue, and I can't wait to do them both. Then after the epilogue, I'll make a special announcement but I'm not spoiling it now, you'll just have to wait and see. Until then, this is SuperKirbyLand234 signing out!


	18. Chapter 18

**See Prologue for Disclaimer**

Chapter 17: The Christmas Epilogue (Nyx's POV)

My house was lit up by, at least what I estimate to be, hundreds of Christmas lights; there were two red stockings hanging by my fireplace, one for me and Infinite, and a well decorated tree in the corner of my living room. Christmas was my absolute favorite time of year, there was practically nothing about this holiday that I didn't love because I loved every aspect of it: the snow, the decorations, the food, the music and getting together with friends and family.

Speaking of Infinite, he was hard at work helping me in the kitchen; you see, the others had thrown together a huge Christmas party at one the more larger bases owned by the Resistance and everyone was bringing not only Christmas presents but all kinds of festive food as well. I had went over there earlier to drop off all my presents for my friends and came back home so I could get a jumpstart on making the food, and Infinite was there to help me out.

He was currently stuffing the turkey while I was putting the finishing touches on my masterpiece, My Gingerbread Creation; its a special tradition in my family that we make all kinds of outrageous things with gingerbread as opposed to just making a generic house like everyone else does. The last Christmas I spent with my parents before they died, we made a gingerbread volcano with a little gingerbread village beneath it and we attached a pump so marshmallow icing erupted from it.

This year, I was making a scale model replica of the Resistance Base and all my friends entirely out of gingerbread, and right now I was adding in the details with a squeeze bottle of marshmallow icing to the little gingerbread figures of me and my friends. You know, it's ashamed we'll soon eat this but I always take a picture of my creation first and put it into a scrapbook of memories so I'll have it forever.

I just finished icing the last gingerbread figure and placed it into position just as Infinite finished garnishing the turkey and placing it into a tin foil container alongside the other food we were taking and we were taking quite a lot of food; there wasn't a time set on when you should come to the party so my kitchen turned into a restaurant's kitchen as we made turkey, mash potatoes, lasagna, meatloaf, egg salad, fresh cinnamon rolls, my Mom's traditional hot sausage casserole and finally my gingerbread creation.

It was a lot to carry which was why we burrowed one of the Resistance Forces' trucks to transport everything to the Christmas party, we'll pile everything into the backseat and while I drive, Infinite will make sure nothing falls or gets tossed around. As we loaded the food onboard, I decided to strike a conversation with him. "I can't believe this is our first Christmas together and I can't wait to get to the party and have fun with you and everyone else", I said.

Infinite smiled, "Yes and it's also the first Christmas I've spent in years. After I lost my mother, I gave up celebrating it and my squad didn't really seem so interested, plus we didn't want to spend the money we earned on presents for each other. We mostly just took solace in the fact that we were with one another and left it at that", he said. I smiled, it didn't sound like much but at least Infinite and his squad did share in the true meaning of Christmas, which was spending time with friends and family.

We loaded up the truck and drove over to the base, with Infinite keeping a close eye and a strong set of hands on the tin foil containers of food and the large plastic container that held my gingerbread model. Thank Chaos, we managed to make it to the base without dropping anything; I stepped out to ask some of the former soldiers to help carry the food containers to the main room while Infinite helped me carry my gingerbread model inside and gentle set it down on the table right in the middle of all the other dishes and let me tell you: it looked more beautiful than I could've imagined.

I quickly took out my camera and snapped a picture of the holiday spread, it slowly came out and I pulled my scrapbook out of my shoulder bag to place it into an empty slot. Just then, everyone else was arriving and judging by the excitingly surprised expressions on their faces, they were taken aback by my creation. "Whoa Nyx! That gingerbread model of the Resistance Base looks awesome! Wow, there's even little gingerbread versions of all of us designed with frosting", said Sonic.

I laughed at his excitement, "Yeah, it's a beloved tradition in my family. You see, my great grandparents didn't want to make a generic looking gingerbread house like everyone else does, so they worked together to make a full scale model of a castle complete with a royal family, servants and even a gingerbread dragon attacking it. Since then, every Christmas my family would make some fantastic and extraordinary creation out of gingerbread. I keep a scrapbook of pictures of all the ones I've made over the years, this year I made a model of our base and all of us to celebrate not only Christmas but our victory our Dr. Eggman", I said.

Everyone smiled as the party went into full swing: people were dancing to the Christmas music, some were singing, telling stories and jokes, and enjoying the food. From where I stood, I could see what each of my friends were doing: Sonic, Amy and Tails were sitting at a table and judging by their laughter, Sonic must've been telling some funny jokes. Silver, who carried Maria in a baby carrier, caught Shadow under a mistletoe and gave him a kiss on the lips; the Chaotix were enjoying some of the food I brought and Knuckles and Rouge were off to the side drinking eggnog and talking.

Infinite walked over to me holding a plate of two cinnamon rolls, "Is this what you always hoped for and more?", he asked. I guess he was referring to how my life was now compared to how it was before the war, "Nope...it's even better!", I said as I hugged him and grabbed a cinnamon roll to take a bite. Just then, Silver walked towards the middle of the room to address everyone. "Attention everybody! It's time to see who gets to put the star at the top of our tree this year", he said as everyone cheered.

Confused, Infinite and I walked over to Knuckles. "What's he talking about exactly?", I asked. "Well much like your family's gingerbread art, we have a tradition too. Every at our Christmas party, we write our names on little slips of paper and place them into a bingo ball spinner. Then someone spins it and the name that's pulled out at random is the person who gets to put the star on top of our Christmas tree, last year it was Silver. Let's see who it is this year", he said.

I watched as Sonic walked over to the spinner and spun it as fast as he could, once he stopped he stuck his hand inside and pulled out a slip of paper. "And our tree topper is...Nyx!", he said. I was shocked as everyone cheered, I was at a lost for words as I was given the star: it was golden and had a single blue crystal in its center. I smiled as I felt tears prick to corners of my eyes, "Thank you all so much, this is such an honor to be the one to put the star on the tree", I said.

My heart swelled with joy as Tails and Rouge grabbed me by the waist and flew me up to the top of the tree so I could place the start at the top; everyone cheered as I was lowered back down on the ground. Infinite then approached me and asked if I wanted to dance to which I did, and as we slow danced together, I couldn't help but reflect on my life.

I went from a small town doctor coming off the heels of a suicidal depression to a doctor and a hero with many friends and loving boyfriend, it's funny how things change. If my parents and old friends could see me now, I'd knew they'd be so proud and happy of the confident and brave young woman I've grown into, and I'm sure they're smiling down on me from heaven right at this moment. I whispered into Infinite's ear and he smiled and nodded his head before walking over to the D.J; I stepped out to the center of the room, "Hey everyone, who wants to join me and Infinite to sing some Christmas songs?", I asked. There were no objections as Infinite grabbed two microphones and approached me.

 _All: "Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays_

 _Merry Christmas (yeah)_

 _Merry Christmas (Merry Christmas)_

 _Merry Christmas_

 _Happy Holidays_

 _Ooh yeah!"_

 _Nyx: "We've been waiting all year for this night_

 _When the snow is glistening on the trees outside_

 _And all the stockings are hung by the fireside"_

 _Infinite: "Waiting for Santa to arrive_

 _And all the love will show_

 _'Cause everybody knows_

 _It's Christmas time and_

 _All the kids will see_

 _The gifts under the tree_

 _It's the best time of year for the family"_

 _Sonic: "It's a wonderful feeling (hey, yeah, yeah)_

 _Feel the love in the room_

 _From the floor to the ceiling_

 _It's that time of year_

 _Christmas time is here_

 _And with the blessings from above_

 _God sends you his love_

 _And everything's okay"_

 _All: "Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays_

 _Oh yeah_

 _Merry Christmas_

 _Merry Christmas_

 _Happy Holidays_

 _Oh!"_

 _Amy: "Bells are ringing_

 _It's time to scream and shout (scream and shout)_

 _And everybody's playing 'cause school's out"_

 _Tails: "Celebrating the special times we share_

 _Happiness, 'cause love is in the air_

 _And all the love will show"_

 _Shadow and Silver: "Cause everybody knows_

 _It's Christmas time and_

 _All the kids will see (will see)_

 _Gifts under the tree (the tree)_

 _It's the best time of year for the family"_

 _Knuckles and Rouge: "It's a wonderful feeling (wonderful feeling)_

 _Feel the love in the room_

 _From the floor to the ceiling (oh yeah)_

 _It's that time of year (that time of year)_

 _Christmastime is here (ooh, yeah)_

 _And with the blessings from above_

 _God sends you his love_

 _And everything's okay"_

 _All: "Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays_

 _Merry Christmas (Merry Christmas)_

 _Merry Christmas_

 _And Happy Holidays_

 _Ooh!_

 _Merry Christmas (oh yeah)_

 _Merry Christmas_

 _And Happy Holidays"_

 _The Chaotix: "No matter what your holiday_

 _It's a time to celebrate_

 _And put your worries aside (worries aside)_

 _And open up your mind (open up your mind)_

 _See the world right by your side_

 _It's Christmastime!"_

 _All: "Merry Christmas_

 _Merry Christmas (ooh yeah)_

 _Merry Christmas_

 _Happy Holidays_

 _(Sonic: "sing it everybody!")_

 _Merry Christmas (come on, now)_

 _Merry Christmas (Let me hear ya)_

 _Merry Christmas_

 _And Happy Holidays"_

 _Nyx: "It's a wonderful feeling_

 _Feel the love in the room_

 _From the floor to the ceiling (oh yeah)_

 _It's that time of year (that time of year)_

 _Christmas time is here (oh yeah)_

 _Infinite: "And with the blessings from above (oh, woah)_

 _God sends you his love (oh yeah)_

 _And everything's okay (yeah, yeah, yeah)"_

 _All: "Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays (come on, now)_

 _Merry Christmas (let me hear ya)_

 _Merry Christmas_

 _And Happy Holidays_

 _Merry Christmas (Merry Christmas)_

 _Merry Christmas (oh, yeah, yeah)_

 _Merry Christmas (ye-yeah)_

 _And Happy Holidays_

 _Merry Christmas_

 _Merry Christmas (come on, now)_

 _Merry Christmas_

 _Happy Holidays (Happy Holidays)"_

At the end of the song, everyone clapped their hands and cheered wildly, and I felt Infinite pull me close to me and give me a kiss on the lips. I smiled as I kissed him back, my heart swelling with joy and a light and airy feeling entered my stomach. After we stopped, I turned to everyone. "Guys, stand in front of my gingerbread model of the base, I wanna take a picture so we can remember this for years to come", I said.

My friends all gathered either next to or crouch down by the model as I handed my camera to one of the former soldiers to take the picture. We all stood together as he snapped the picture; I smiled widely, this was the best Christmas ever and I couldn't have been happier.

~The End~


	19. Chapter 19

Light of Hope Announcement:

Hello, everyone! SuperKirbyLand234 here coming at you with a big announcement!

First, a big thank you to all my fans who enjoyed my story "Light of Hope"; I had a lot fun writing this story. Despite its flaws, Sonic Forces is a pretty great game; it's not one of the best Sonic games ever but it's pretty good and lends itself to a ton of potential ideas for fanfics. I also love the reviews you guys have left me, they ranged from funny to informative to sweet and I appreciate it and you guys.

Second, here's my big announcement: many of you have asked me certain questions involving a particular plot point which is "Will Nyx and Infinite get married and have children?" And the answer to that question is yes they will...in the sequel! Yup that's right, I'll be taking a break from writing to enjoy the holidays with my family but when it's over I'll be back with the sequel to Light of Hope entitled "Light of Hope 2: New Horizons".

I can't give away too much but I don't want to leave you guys completely in the dark so I'll leave you with this spoiler-free synopsis for the sequel: The sequel takes place two and a half years after Light of Hope, Nyx and Infinite are happily married and are starting a family of their own as our many of our favorite characters but a new evil with help from an old familiar foe threatens to destroy their peace.

Now it's up to the next generation of heroes to help save their home as well as another world in an alternate dimension, all while learning new things about themselves along the way. This story will revolve around many new characters that I won't introduce here in order to avoid spoilers, and it'll also be rated M, the story will still have mild swearing and some mature topics such as homosexuality, gender identity and acceptance but the M rating is only because one and _**only one**_ chapter will contain a sex scene and following the rules of , I have to give it the M rating.

So anyway, that's the big plan for after the holidays are over. I hope you guys have a safe and happy one, God bless you all and I'll see you later in January. Until then, this is SuperKirbyLand234 signing out; have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. And also, here's to hoping the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog movie will be at the very least good.


End file.
